Virgin Blood
by God of Asgard
Summary: Sakura, a beautiful maiden of Greece, is in training to be a Priestess at the temple of Artemis, but her dreams are taken away because of her forced marriage to Prince Sasuke. Deep in the ancient deserts of Egypt, Sakura is swept away by a handsome, redheaded god who unknowingly needs her.
1. Prologue

**Hi all, I just wanted to say this is a story I adopted from ****The Lord's Fallen Angel****. She could not continue this story and I was eager to continue the story for her. I hope you enjoy my future chapters!**

**This chapter was made solely by ****The Lord's Fallen Angel**.

**-Itachis rose**

"_I love Greek mythology and I love to learn about the gods and goddess. So I have decided to do a story with something I love. I really hope you all like this story._

_I DON'T OWN NARUTO!_

_And please back off my grammar people; I know it's not great!" -TLFA_

Virgin Blood

Prologue

It was warm during this time of the year, when Ra sailed away from the sky with the sun. The Egyptian desert was warm at night during the summer time, making it very pleasant for animals and humans to travel.

A giant gust of wind blew across the great desert, many grains of sand gusted through the wasteland until it reached the Nile River. The wind quickly died down and a man, dressed as if he were the pharaoh himself, emerged from the small sandstorm. But this man was much greater and more powerful than any pharaoh, for he was a cruel, coldhearted god that has lived alone for thousands of years.

This god wasn't as powerful as Ra or Osiris, but he was strong enough to strike fear into all mortals. It wasn't just the mortals that feared him, but spirits, monsters and lower ranked gods found him terrifying as well. He was known to cause a lot destruction and chaos in Egypt, which left both man and the gods terribly upset. He was never punished; nevertheless he was warned multiple times that if he should ever do something twice, he would have to face the wrath of Ra. Of course he was intelligent, and knew that the Great Sun God himself was a force that he should not recon with. No one knows why the god destroys all things in his path, or wrecks chaos in the great cities of Egypt, but all mortals, spirits and gods believe that he takes pleasure in others in pain.

The god walked through the tall grasses that grew close to the water's edge, in the shallow areas where numerous brightly colored fish swam and ate bugs off the surface. He stepped in the cool water and walked deeper into the river until it reached his thighs.

He often came here to the get way from everything, or to calm his mind. No one other then he knew of this spot on the Nile River; it was too far for any mortal to travel and the other gods barely came up to the earth. None visit this part of the river. This spot was his little sanctuary where only he and the animals could visit.

The area was mostly surrounded by tall grass with white and yellow flowers blooming within the many reeds that grew by the riverside. Hundreds of lily pads huddled together by the shore while fireflies filled the air above, occasionally landing on a flower to rest its wings. Palm trees were scattered up and down the Nile, rare plants with the ability to heal rested and grew on the ground, the palm trees swayed in the wind, this place was the beautiful desert garden unknown to man.

After hours of standing in the Nile River, the man walked towards the shore and stepped out of the cool water as a giant gust of wind surrounded him. The gust of wind quickly traveled over the desert until it came to the rock shore of Mediterranean Sea. The wind was quickly gone as it reviled the man once again.

The god gazed out over the great sea as his mind wondered on its own.

Across from sea was Greece, the territory of the Greek gods. The Egyptian gods and Greek gods came to terms long ago; neither would cross the great sea and interfere with the other land, unless their mortals were to travel to the other land. This agreement was made by the Egyptian god Ra and the Greek god Zeus after the Greek god's overthrew his father, Cronus.

Greece…

It must be a beautiful place with its lush green forests and all the different wildlife there, unlike this wasteland. Sure the desert had its own beauty but even a god could grow tired of the golden sand, and the women.

Sure there were multiple mortal women that worshiped him and would serve him until they died, and then Anubis would come to guide and protect them to the depths of the underworld ruled by Osiris. The women of this land all looked the same to him, black hair, brown eyes and tan skin, all the same. None of them stood out to him; sure many would think that someone like him would take many women to bed with him. But he was not like that; he had no interest taking a woman of no rarity to his bed.

Women were weak in his eyes. If he was going to find a bride that would carry his children, he would make sure that she was strong and unique. Not weak and the same like every mortal woman in Egypt.

That was a dream he would never have.

Many believe that the reason why he does things he does is just to watch people suffer for joy. But that was far from it, the reason why he does it is because of the loneliness he feels in his heart. The cold bitterness of loneliness that causes him pain almost every day, and the only way to ease the pain was to make others suffer. But he would never admit that he was in pain in a million years.

Slowly he lifted his gaze to the stars and traced some of them that formed the Zodiac. He missed his old friend that became part of the Zodiac about two hundred years ago.

A sigh escaped his lips as turned his gaze back to the sea, the cold cruel sea that would show no mercy when angered, how it reminded him of him sometimes.

"_I don't know when the next chapter will be up and no I'm not telling you who the god is."_

_Please review!" -TLFA_


	2. Arc I Chapter 1: Pride of an Apprentice

**This chapter was made solely by The Lord's Fallen Angel.**

**-Itachis rose**

_Yes people I have finally updated this story._

_Now before we go on I like to say that I mostly know more of Greek myths and not much on Egyptian myths. So the story is going to be mostly Greek, but I will try to put more Egyptian myths in._

Greek Gods

Apollo _the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo was the god of music (principally the lyre, and he directed the choir of the Muses) and also of prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not for war or hunting), poetry, dance, intellectual inquiry. He is also known as the god of the sun and light._

Artemis _the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Apollo. Artemis is the goddess of the wilderness, hunt and wild animals, and fertility (she became the goddess of fertility and childbirth mainly in cities). She was often depicted with the crescent of the moon above her forehead and was sometimes identified with Selene (goddess of the moon). Artemis was one of the Olympians and a virgin goddess._

Aphrodite _the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. According to Hesiod, she was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son Cronus. Cronus threw the severed genitalsinto the ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodie, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythena._

Eros _the god of love and sexual desire. He is the son of Aphrodite and is known as Cupid in Rome._

Hades _the lord of the deadened ruler of the neither world, which is referred to as the domain of Hades or, by transference, as Hades alone. He is the son of Cronus and Rhea and a sibling to Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia._

Demeter _the Greek earth goddess par excellence, who brings forth the fruits of the earth, particularly the various grains. She taught mankind the art of sowing and plouphing so they could end their nomadic existence. As such Demeter was also the goddess of planned society._

Hera _the queen of the Olympians deities. She is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and wife and sister of Zeus. Hera was mainly worshipped as a goddess of marriage and birth. It is said that each year Hera's virginity returns by bathing in the well Canathus._

Virgin Blood

Chapter 1: The pride of an apprentice

Apollo took to the sky with his gold chariot and four firer horses as he pulled the sun behind and brought light to Greece, especially the city of Ephesus. The sun's rays grew over the city bringing warmth and a new day by the god of the sun. The people of Ephesus still slept in their homes as it was still too early to wake and start work. The streets were empty, only the birds pecked through the ground scavenging for food left behind from the market the day before.

But one person was up in this early hour as she walked down one of the main streets with a basket full of wild flowers and vegetables in it. The woman young was in her late 20s. She had amber eyes that were half closed all the time, she had long blue hair that was tied up in a bun with a white flower decorating the side of the tight bun. She wore a light blue robe that was sleeveless and had slits on both sides of the robe.

The woman walked at a slow pace as she made her way to a magnificent looking temple. The temple was quite large as it was one of the biggest buildings in Ephesus. It was 377 feet (115 meters) long and 180 feet (55 meters) wide, made almost entirely out of marble, making it about three times as big as the Parthenon by area. She walked up the great steps of the temple and entered, she was greeted by darkness. But the rising sun shined light through the temple as it slowly lit it up.

The blue haired woman walked deep into the temple, her steps calm and even, she stopped when she came upon a statue. It was a statue of the Greek goddess of the hunt and the wild, Artemis. Artemis was the Greek goddess, the virginal huntress and twin of Apollo. Artemis was also the goddess of childbirth and disease. In some stories when her mother, Leto, gave birth to the goddess, it was short and at ease. As soon as Artemis was born she helped her mother with her brother, Apollo, whose birth was long and difficult, as such, this was how Artemis became the goddess of childbirth.

The statue of Artemis was a unique one, as it was one of a kind that could only be found in Ephesus. This statue of her was 5 feet tall and was made out of some sort of light tan marble. The goddess wore a headdress with a circle plate behind her head. She had multiple breasts on her chest as her body was wrapped in a cloth that showed five rows of three deer on it.

The mortal woman placed the basket at the foot of the statues pedestal. She got on her knees in front of the statue and prayed to the goddess for about an hour.

Every day she did this, as it was the job of the high-priestess. She was in charge of the temple and getting the offerings for the goddess at this early hour. She didn't complain about it, after all this was one of the only things that Konan had to feel good about herself.

For as long as she could remember she had no parents and was an orphan her whole life. For years she had to learn to survive on her own and how to protect her womanhood at a young age. But even though Konan was a woman, she was smart and was pretty good at fighting. She believed that when she was a baby her parents must have asked one of the gods to give Konan the ability to fight with paper. She could turn her whole body into millions of sheets of papers that form into cranes to get away or attack; she can even give herself paper wings that would allow her to fly.

At the age of fifteen she mastered her gift from the gods and she was able to get by better. She traveled to Athens in hopes to find a better life there. But as soon as she entered the city a band of thieves and murders attacked her before she knew what happened. She didn't remember much at that point but soon woke up and found herself tied up in a dark cave. She tried to separate into millions of papers but was soon halted when she realized that there was someone watching her.

It was a young man that seemed to be her age, maybe a year or two older. He had orange spiky hair and grey eyes with rings that wrapped around his pupils. The man had several piercings on his face that Konan had never seen before. Two under his bottom lip, three one each side of his nose and several on his ears.

She remembered first time she laid eyes on him. At first she thought that he was a god from Olympus because of the strange air that surrounded him.

She soon met the ones that captured her and learned that they were led by a band of six brothers, and that they wanted to her to join them because of her gift. She quickly learned that the man that was watching over her was one of the brothers. Pein was his name, and he was the youngest of the siblings and became Konan's partner.

She didn't mind joining them; it was the first time in her life that she felt like she had a purpose. They were called the Akatsuki, their purpose was unknown to Konan and the rest of the members, except for the six brothers. She was fine with that and didn't wish to know of it. All she knew was that if the orange headed brothers wished it, then she will see to it that that wish was granted.

Over the years she and Pein worked together, they become close friends, and formed a bond that could never be severed. Their relationship soon went to the next level when the orange haired man kissed her, and stroked her check with his strong hand. Sometimes Konan wondered if Pein kissed her on his own accord, or if Eros himself shot Pein with a love arrow that day. But their love was true and that was all that mattered to Konan.

But disaster strikes as their base was found. It seemed that someone snitched and told soldiers where Akatsuki base was located.

All over Greece people cowered in fear when they heard the name Akatsuki pass the lips of gossipers. Yes, they have done some awful things that the gods themselves would not dare to step in. So, the people Greece hated them and wished for nothing more than to see the Akatsuki in the hands of Hades himself.

Konan didn't remember much nor wish to remember that night when they were found. There were arrows flying everywhere and fire quickly took over the base and surrounding fields. Konan didn't know how, but Pein was able to save her from the attack, he took her away and they escaped the majority of the attack. They were followed and someone shot Pein in the back.

She remembered the feeling when she saw the man she loved on the ground barely alive. It was a feeling she didn't want to ever feel again, the feeling of fear, sadness, shock, helplessness and guilt all mixed together. She tried to help him up and carry him but he told her to leave him and go. Of course she refused and tried to help him against his wish. She couldn't remember how he convinced her to leave him behind and run away, but she still remembered those three words he told her before she left him.

'I love you.'

She cried for hours as she ran from her love and what was left of the Akatsuki. She cried until she couldn't anymore and she somehow found her way to Ephesus. Konan felt broken then, and she let her feet guide her. It seemed that her feet led her to the steps of the Temple of Artemis. Unable make it up the first five steps she broke down crying her heart out until someone above her spoke.

That's when she met Tsunade, the high-priestess of the temple at the time, she was also a doctor. She remembered the first time she saw Tsunade, just by looking at her, Konan could tell that she was strong, kind and ruthless when needed to be. Konan was eternally gratefully for the older woman when she took her in, and taught her the ways of the temple and the goddess. It was the longest time since Konan felt hope and peace again after losing Pein.

The blue haired woman slowly rose to her feet and stared at the statue for a moment before she turned her back to it. Her brown strap sandals made little sound as she walked down the hall to awake the apprentices.

Konan couldn't help but smile a little as she remembered her training to become a priestess. All the chores you had to do in the temple and praying you had to do. Konan's wish was to just become a priestess, but imagine her shock when Tsunade announced her retirement and her proclamation that Konan would be the high-priestess. Of course there were some protests to the idea since Konan was young and just a trainee. Tsunade stood up for her and also announced that the goddess Artemis wished this, and of course that shut them up.

That was three years ago and Konan was doing pretty good job if she said so herself; from the duties of the high-priestess, to helping those who have come to see the goddess.

Finally, she reached a wooden door that sat alone down the hall. She grabbed the door handle and quietly pushed it open as the sun's rays behind her entered. Inside where two beds that were each occupied. Konan walked in without making a sound and headed toward the curtains. With one swift movement sun light shined through the room that caused the two young apprentices to awake.

"Time to wake up girls, there is much work that needs to be done." Konan said as she left the room.

Both of the apprentices groan, but slowly rose from their beds. The first was a young girl that seemed to be at least 12 years old. She had pale skin, pearl white eyes and had long brown hair. The second girl was older as she was about 16 years old. Her skin was pale too; she had short pink hair and beautiful bright emerald eyes that sparkled in the rising sunlight.

The pink haired girl stretched her arms over her head as she let out a big yawn, while the other just grumbled in annoyance. Of course this didn't slip by the older girl when she heard the younger one complain.

"Hanabi, you know that this is our duties as the apprentices. Don't you want to become a priestess?" said the older girl.

"I guess so." Hanabi mumbled.

The older girl smiled and shook her head a bit. She stood from her bed and strolled over to where her robe and Hanabi's was. She picked them up from the chair they rest on and threw Hanabi's to her. The robes were plain white with short sleeves and a skirt that passed their knees.

"Why do we have to get up so early to do all these chores again?" the younger girl whined.

The pink haired girl let out a sigh. "Because Konan said that we must do this to prove ourselves to Artemis."

"Fine, fine, man Sakura why do you always take orders from her?" Hanabi whined again.

"Because she is the high-priestess so therefore we must follow her direction and order." Sakura finished tying her sandals on and walked to the door. "Now I'm off to do my chores and you better hurry."

Sakura heard another whine from the girl but ignored it as she left. She hurried down the hall and quickly came to a small kitchen that was for those whole lived in the temple. Spotting a ripe looking pear on the table she quickly grabbed it and made her way to the entrance of the temple. The pink haired girl soon spotted Konan talking to some early morning visitors that came to see the goddess. Finishing up her pear Sakura ran towards Konan as she dodged some of the early morning visitors.

"Now Sakura how many times have I told you not to run in the temple." Konan gave a rare smile.

"I'm sorry Konan, I just wanted to know what you would like done today." Sakura rubbed the back of her head and stuck out her tongue a bit.

"And now many times did I tell you to keep your tongue in your mouth." The older woman laughed a little as placed her hand under Sakura's chin and pushed it up so the tongue was gone.

"Sorry, again." She bowed.

"Anyways you and Hanabi are to wash the steps outside the entrance." Konan ordered.

"Right away." Sakura bowed once more and left to find the buckets and brushes.

Moments later Sakura came out of the temple with Hanabi, they both had two buckets in their hands. The two girls sauntered to the very bottom of the stairs and started there. Slowly they worked their up the many steps, but they weren't anywhere close to finishing. As the day went on, it quickly became hot as Apollo was now right above the temple, but Sakura didn't slow down as she kept on working.

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl looked above her but didn't see anyone at the top of the temple.

"Down here!"

She looked down at the bottom of the steps to see another girl her age. She had long light blonde hair that was in a ponytail, pale blue eyes and had fare skin. She wore a light purple robe that had a slit on one side, and had long sleeves but had a giant hole on top of the sleeves. The girl was beautiful and was clearly blessed with beauty by Aphrodite herself, but right now it wasn't her beauty that got everyone's attention but her big round belly.

"Ino!" Sakura ran down to the girl and hugged her. "Come to pray to the goddess again, I see." Sakura pulled away.

"Of course, I want to have a safe and healthy birth when the baby comes." The blonde girl rubbed her belly.

"Wonderful, Konan is inside if you are looking for her." Sakura smiled.

"I'll go see her in a bit, but first, I want to visit you." Ino smiled back.

Sakura had been friends with Ino as long as she could remember when first came to the temple. It was before Konan was high-priestess and Tsunade was. Sakura had just become an apprentice like Konan but at a very young age of 10. She worked hard and tried to keep up with Konan with her chores but always fell behind the older girl.

Though Sakura enjoyed being around Konan all the time she still felt alone. It wasn't that Konan was ever mean to Sakura; it was just that she was always busy and would leave the temple a lot while Sakura stayed behind. It was times like that Sakura wished to have someone her age around the temple to play with.

Suddenly, one day the little pink haired girl came across a little blonde girl named Ino with her family. She asked Tsunade or Konan who the family was and she was told that they were the Yamanakas. Every three months the Yamanaka family came to visit the temple of Artemis to offer gifts to her because of the wilderness she brings to them. Sakura also learned that Ino's family owned one of the largest plantations in Greece where beautiful flowers grew everywhere. They also visited the goddess Demeter because she was goddess of the seasons and who brought forth fruits of the earth and grains.

In no time Sakura and Ino became great friends and played many games together, when Sakura was finished with her chores. For five years they were best friends and knew pretty much everything about each other.

But one day Ino's father told her that he was marrying her off to the youngest son in the Inuzuka family. Of course when the girls heard about it they protested the idea. Sakura hated that her friend was being married off like some prize or something. It was one of the reasons why Sakura wanted to become Artemis's priestess so that she wouldn't have to deal with being handed over to an unknown man. She was also afraid for her friend, what if her future husband was a man that would lust after woman and nothing more?

When they meet the youngest son of the family they were surprised. His name was Kiba, and he was a handsome young man about their age. Of course at first his attitude got on their nerves, but other than that, he was a pretty nice guy. He didn't treat Ino like a prize or some sort of meat, he treated her like a human being, much to Sakura's relief. In the end, Ino liked Kiba a lot and married him with no trouble. So far they had been married for a year and Ino is carrying their first born child.

"Ino you know I can't really chit chat with you when I have so much work to do." Sakura smiled sadly.

"I know I know, I'll let you get back to your work. Once your done come find me inside alright." said the blonde.

"Of course." Sakura nodded.

"Now if you excuse me I also promised Kiba I would ask Artemis for good hunt for him." Ino said as she walked up the steps.

Sakura smiled to herself and turned back to her work.

For what seemed like forever Sakura and Hanabi finally finished at a decent time. They threw the dirty water onto few bushes nearby and scrubbed the dirt out of the brushes by the fountain and the two ran back into the temple. Sakura ended up putting the buckets and brushes away since Hanabi tossed them to her and quickly ran off somewhere. That girl never takes her responsibilities seriously around here. Placing the buckets and brushes back to where they belong, Sakura quickly went to look for Ino to see if she was still here. Within five minutes she found her blonde friend by the statute of Artemis. Just when Sakura came up to Ino she just finished talking and turned to her friend.

"Finally done I see." Ino teased.

"Hey it's not as easy as it looks Ino." Sakura laughed.

"Yeah I know." The blonde giggled.

Suddenly, they heard a lot of commotion outside as many people from inside rushed to the entrance of the temple.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Don't know." Ino answered.

Soon two soldiers, or guards dressed in sliver armor entered the temple with an elderly looking man behind them. Sakura spotted Konan emerge from the crowd of people and quickly shooed them away before she turned to the elder and the guards. The two girls watched the blue haired woman talk to them for a few minutes until the old man pointed to Sakura.

"Is he pointing at me?" Sakura asked blankly.

Ino didn't answer as she just watched.

The pink haired woman started to worry when she saw Konan's face became furious and glare at the old man. She then talked furiously to him, but Sakura couldn't make out the words.

"Holy Hera, Sakura look!" Ino said suddenly as she pointed to the entrance.

Standing at the center of the entrance was a young man about their age or older. He had short black raven hair, black eyes and pale skin, but not as pale as Sakura. He wore a white robe that was much whiter then hers. The robe was sleeveless and the hem of the robe stopped at his knees. He also had a golden belt around his waist and a fancy gold necklace around his neck. He almost looked like royalty.

"Sakura do you know who that is." Ino asked in excitement.

"No." she shook her head.

"That's Prince Sasuke, his family owns almost half of Greece." said Ino.

_It was hard writing Konan because we don't know what she is really like, so I hope I did ok._

_The statue of Artemis is real and could learn more about it if you Goggle Artemis._

**Please review!**


	3. Arc I Chapter 2: Egypt

**This chapter was made solely by The Lord's Fallen Angel.**

**-Itachis rose**

_Hi everyone that's right updated this story. I thought it was time to update since you all are begging to. Just remember this is one of those stories I'm in no hurry._

Artemis: Goddess of the hunt, wilderness and childbirth. And sometimes knows as the goddess of virginity.

Apollo: Twin brother of Artemis. He is the god of the sun, music, poetry and dance.

Hera: Wife of Zeus and goddess of women and marriages.

Leto: Daughter of the Titans, Coeus and Phoebe and the mother of Artemis and Apollo.

Niobe: A queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion

Actaeon: Prince Theban

Chapter 2: Egypt

"Sakura, could you please come over here for a moment." Konan called.

"Hmm, sure." Sakura said with hesitation and looked at Ino.

"I think I'll head home, sorry that we couldn't chat. I'll see you later Sakura." Ino waved a little and headed out.

Sakura waved at her friend quickly and then made her way over to Konan and the elderly man. She then noticed that Sasuke was slowly joining them as she reached the older woman's side. The old man whispered something into Sasuke's ear and then pointed at her again. The only answer he got was a nod from the prince.

"Is something the matter Konan?" Sakura asked.

She watched blue haired woman look down at the ground with a sad expression on her face.

"Perhaps it's best that I tell her." The older man cleared his throat and turned to Sakura. "My name is Seigi; I am the royal family's rule keeper and private judge. I'm already sure that you know of Prince Sasuke."

At that point Sasuke stepped toward and grabbed Sakura's hand and kissed it. Sakura turned red at the prince's action as she slowly pulled her hand away.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." said Sasuke.

"Like wise." Sakura muttered.

"Now Sakura we have come here to speak to you." said Seigi.

"What about?" the pink haired woman asked.

"Sasuke is next in line to rule since his brother has abandoned the throne a few years ago. Our last ruler passed away last night in his sleep, leaving no heir other than Sasuke. But before the prince can take his rightfully place he needs to marry first." Seigi explained.

"So what does this have to do with me?" Sakura didn't like where this was going.

"It should be obvious my dear, the prince has chosen you to be his wife." said the elderly man.

Everything came to a stop as the words rang through Sakura's head. Sasuke wanted to marry her? He wanted to make her his queen? Why, why did he want her out of all the beautiful women in Greece, plus she was in training to become a priestess for the goddess, Artemis. Oh god, Artemis! Would the Goddess even allow Sakura to leave her, or would she punish Sakura for her betrayal?

The goddess of the hunt has been known to have a wicked temper, and she was one goddess you don't want to anger, even with the smallest things. There have been many stories of Artemis showing her furry upon those that dare to touch her or turn their back on her in their own vanity.

One story for example is the story of Niobe. In the story Niobe shouted to the heavens that she was superior then Leto because she had fourteen children, seven boys and seven girls, while Leto had only Artemis and Apollo. When the twins heard this they became enraged and went to seek out Niobe's fourteen children. Apollo killed her seven sons with his gold arrows while Artemis killed her seven daughters with her silver arrows.

Another story is the tale of Actaeon. One day Actaeon was out hunting until he stumbled upon Artemis bathing in a scared pool on Mount Cithaeron. He spied on her as she bathed in the pool until she noticed him and became enrage. For his punishment she turned him into a stag and sent his hounds after him and ate him in the end.

"But I can't. If I do the goddess will become angered with me, and I do not wish to face her wrath." said Sakura.

"Sakura speaks the truth, Artemis is a powerful goddess that you do not wish to anger." said Konan.

"But if I remember correctly there is a ceremony that a priestess or one in training can step down and leave the goddess without enraging her." said Seigi.

Konan glared at the man. "There is, but we need three days to prepare for it and I'm sure you want the wedding to be right away."

"Indeed but the prince can still marry her as long as he does take her virginity until then." said Seigi.

The blue haired opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. Damn it, she was backed into a corner. The goddess will be fine with the marriage as long as Sasuke doesn't touch Sakura without her ok.

Letting out a sigh Konan turned to look at Sakura with grief. "Sakura… you are hereby released from the temple… Your ceremony to leave will be in three days."

Everything was falling apart right before Sakura's eyes, her dreams, her hopes and her friends were all taken away from her. She couldn't believe that Konan let her go, the one that she looked up to the most as a big sister. But she knew she couldn't blame everything on Konan, the older woman couldn't do anything agents the royals, no one could.

But what really crushed Sakura the most was that she was losing her freedom. She will no longer have a say in her own life as everything will be decided for her by her new husband now. She wasn't sure if he loved her or just saw her as a way to get the throne and bare his children. She won't be able to do the things she loves the most or see the ones she loves.

All these thoughts swirled through her head as she stared at her husband-to-be across from her. The priest from the temple of Hera spoke about their vows but she didn't listen to a single word as another thing rushed into her mind.

Right after the wedding she and Sasuke have to leave right away to Egypt. They are going for some politic reason that Sakura really didn't care for. They would be there for a week and spend their honeymoon there to. The pink haired woman prayed that Sasuke would remember not to touch her until her ceremony in two days, which has now been extended until they get back from Egypt.

The priest asked her something which she didn't catch all of it but it was the question if she wanted to take Sasuke as her husband. She didn't want anything to do with the man that took her dreams away but she was in a position where she couldn't say no, but yes.

(x)

The Nile River was the life source (Is that right?) of Egypt and all those that inhabit it. Many cities of Egypt were built on the great river to make lives easier for people to survive. One of the biggest cities was Heliopolis; known as the city of the sun. It was one of the oldest cities and been around since the Old and Middle Kingdoms.

But to Sakura it was nothing more than a stop to delay the loss of her virginity. Though she had to admit that Sasuke's will power amazed Sakura quite a bit, he never really touched her; just kissed her. Though she knew he couldn't wait until the day she could leave Artemis, he's desire for her was unmistakable by the way he kissed her. Unlike their first kiss when they married it was gentle but the rest after that were harsh and forceful.

Those kisses we're proof that he didn't love her. But she didn't want his love in the first place, though it would have been nice to know that he at least cared for her a little. Though he must of care about her enough to pick her out of all the other choices he had.

"Sakura, I'm off to speak with the Pharaoh's adviser." Sasuke announced as dressed in his best robes.

Sakura looked up from her needle work in her corner and stared at her husband, she set it down and stood up. "When will you be back?"

Sakura was no longer dressed in her ragged robes that she wore around the temple, but in a beautiful light green robe with a low neckline that showed the base of her breast a bit. The robes stopped a little below her ankles, with a long slit on one side that stopped a little below her hip. Her short pink locks were pulled back into a bun with green leafs and white berries, along with two gold headbands to keep the loose hairs out of her face.

They were given a beautiful large home that was in the higher-up class in their stay at Heliopolis. There were seven maids at their call, a large garden in the back with a large fountain filled with fish, a stable with four stalls and two mares and a great front yard that was surrounded by a high wall.

"I'll be back the same time as yesterday." He said with no emotion in his voice.

"So you'll miss dinner again I see." The pink haired woman let out a sigh.

"Maybe, and while I'm gone I want you to fix my other two robes. And once you're done with that, I need you to prepare the gooses that we brought to give to chief's wife that gave us this home. And then…" It went on and on like that as the black haired man gave her a list of things he needed her to do. Some of them were jobs that the maids could do, but Sakura didn't say anything.

It has been like this every day since they've been here, and it was the fourth day in their stay. Sasuke would give her a list of things to do when he was gone and wanted them completed before he returned. Every night he missed dinner with her and returned home late with her in bed already.

"… and I expect them all done when I return." Sasuke headed towards the front door with Sakura following behind him quickly.

"I will see to it that your wishes are completed." Sakura bowed her head as they stood outside the house.

"Good." He then lifted her head and leaded forward to give her a rough and forceful kiss before he pulled away and walked off.

Once Sasuke was out of sight Sakura spit on the ground and rubbed her knuckles agents her lips. Slowly she returned inside the house and continued to wipe her lips until one of the maids came up to her. She stopped wiping her lips and spoke to the maid telling her she was fine at the moment. The maid bowed and left Sakura to herself. Letting out a sigh Sakura decided to get to work with the jobs that were given to her.

For hours she worked and worked, nonstop until she finished with her last chore as the sun began to set. The pink haired woman dragged her feet into the dining room and took a seat at the end of the table as the maids brought her dinner. Soon Sakura was left alone in the dining room and stared at the empty seat where her husband was supposed to sit. Letting out a sigh she leaned back in her chair and looked outside of the open room to see the sun setting in the desert.

How many times has she seen the same old sun set alone? Is this how her life is going to be, alone and working her fingers to the bone to please a husband that she does not love? She didn't even want to image what her life would be like when they had kids, and she had a feeling that Sasuke will want a lot of them. Could she deal with a house full of children by herself and do all the chores without a husband to help?

Suddenly a picture of her surrounded by crying children and arms full of jobs came to her in a flash. Her emerald eyes widen at the picture in her head as her hands started to shake. That can't be her life it just can't be. She can't be a stay at home mom that pops out kids and pleases a husband that's never around, she just can't!

Sakura quickly stood up from the table and ran out of the dining room and outside. She ran through the garden and tripped a few times but kept on running until she reached the stables. She ran start into the stables and headed right for Atum, a strong gray stallion. She pulled Atum out and quickly led him out of the stables and mounted on him. Giving him one strong kick Atum took off into the city of Heliopolis at full speed.

The pink haired woman ignored all the surprise stares from the people as she rode down the street. Soon she started to see fewer buildings and people, and more sand as she and Atum headed into the great desert.

_I would like to say that those stories of Artemis are true. There are many stories like that about Artemis that showed her wrath on those who anger her. That's why I like her she kicks ass!_

_Please review!_ -TLFA


	4. Arc I Chapter 3: One night

**This chapter was made solely by The Lord's Fallen Angel.**

**-Itachis rose**

_Hello all, I've finally updated something and it just happens to be this one._

**Ra****: **_The Kind of the god's and at times the main god in the creation of the world, he is the most influential god in Ancient Egyptian religion. Also a god of death, life and rebirth Supposedly the father the first four gods/goddesses (Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. Others gods and goddesses included), and controller of the sun. _

**Nefertiti****:**_The Great Royal Wife (or chief consort/wife) of the EgyptianPharaohAkhenaten. She was the mother-in-law and probable stepmother of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Nefertiti may have also ruled as pharaoh in her own right under the name Ankhkheprure Neferneferuaten. She was also known throughout Egypt for her beauty. She was very proud of her long, swan like neck. She even invented her own makeup using the Galena plant._

Chapter 3: One night

Ra was long gone from the sky as night took over the desert. It-The desert-was surprisingly warm at night and not blazing hot during the day. Sakura stared up at the starry sky on Atum's back as he walked deeper and deeper into the desert. The city of Heliopolis was long gone behind them; you couldn't even see the great city no matter how hard you tried.

Sakura didn't know where she was going and just let the horse lead the way, since it seemed that he knew where he was going. She felt weak and dehydrated from the wicked desert and found herself struggling to keep herself on the horse's back. She couldn't remember how long she was out here or what made her want to come out into the desert at night. The pink haired woman was too caught up in her shock about her new life that her commonsense just shut down on her.

For a sudden moment she blacked out and slid off the saddle and landed on the warm sandy ground. Atum stopped in his tracks and turned to Sakura to see her lying on the desert floor unmoved. Gently Atum nudged her head with the end of his nose to try to wake her. After a few nudges Sakura finally opened her eyes and looked up at the gray stallion groggily. Slowly she pushed herself up on her feet while grabbing on to Atum's mane for support. She didn't feel too guilty pulling on his mane since horses can't really feel it in the first place.

She gave Atum a weary smile before she continued on foot with Atum following. Sakura didn't have the strength to climb back on the horse and decided to give his back a rest too.

The stallion was just as dehydrated as her, and Sakura didn't want to push him so hard, not just after he got her away from everything in Heliopolis.

It felt like hours to Sakura now as she continued to travel deeper and deeper into the desert. Her head was spinning now from both dehydration and hunger since she forgot to eat in her hurry. Atum was falling behind a little from the same lack that Sakura was suffering herself. The pink haired woman started to wonder when they would be able to find a place to rest and regain the energy they lost from the sun. But the more they continued on the more Sakura feared they would die out here.

She couldn't believe that she would die out in this wasteland where no one will ever find her buried body under the golden sand. All of her hopes and dreams were now really gone, as the fact that she was going to die dawned on her. Her life was no more than a wasted piece of dirt that was to be forgoten in the gains of time that slips through the gods' fingers.

It was then that the pink haired woman realized that Atum picked up his pace and moved ahead of her. Looking up ahead Sakura spotted small green lands around a small river stream that seem to lead to the Nile. It mustn't have been her imagination playing tricks on because Atum saw it to and broke into a gallop to get there. Sakura to pick up her pace and broke into a run herself to follow the stallion to their new sanctuary.

Atum beat her to the green lands and disappeared through the lushes plants. Stumbling on the sand mounds a few times Sakura to finally reach the lushes green lands and pushed her way through the greens. Green was all she could see in front of her with a few hints colored flowers that were here and there. Finally she broke through the green jungle and came upon a clearing of the river. The river's shores were filled with long grass and white water lilies that grew both in the soil and water. There were a few large rocks here and there that were covered in green ivy vines with violet flowers growing from them. The palm trees surrounded the river that made it seem that it was both hiding and protecting it. There weren't any animals from what Sakura can tell other than Atum but there were many fireflies flying above the river water, giving this place an enchanting look.

Sakura could only stare in awe at the beautiful greens that surrounded the river as she slowly moved towards the river. She moved to Atum's side that was drinking the clear crystal water of the river that looked very inviting to swim in. But when Sakura kneeled down she found that the water was quite shallow and looked to go up pass the knee or to your mid-thigh. Though she could not swim in the small river she still took greedy hand fuels of water and practically shoved her face in the cool water. She lost count how many drinks she took but she could careless and continued until her thirst was satisfied.

Atum was the first to finish his drink when his head shot up and looked over to the left with his ears perked forward. Sakura finished her last drink and looked up to see that something caught the great stallion's attention. It was then she heard something moving in the water and turned to look over to see what Atum saw, and what she saw made her gasp in shock.

Standing in the center of the river down a little further from her was a man, a beautiful one at that. He wore a white kilt around his waist that had beautiful gold and red designs on the hem and a loss rope belt to match. He also wore gold Egyptian style bracelets on both wrists and a gold band around his up left arm. Around his neck was a small necklace with a fragile looking gold string that was attached to a large flat red orb. His skin was surprisingly pale for someone who lived in the desert but it seemed to suit him though. He was very muscular to, meaning that he must have been a warrior of some kind Sakura thought. But what really caught her attention was his beautiful face. His features were sharp with no trace of fat and a strong chin to go with it. He had short blood red hair that flew gentle through the breeze and hid what seemed to be a love tattoo on the side of his forehead. His eyes were the most interesting part of his face that Sakura could not take her gaze away; they were jade eyes that were surrounded by black rings that made him a little mysterious. By what she can tell he was not very old and looked to be the same age as her age or a little older.

Over all Sakura thought he was the most beautiful man she has ever seen in her life as she watched him stare up at the starry night. He didn't see her or Atum from what she could tell; he was to busy paying attention to the sky then her. But that was fine with her since she wasn't to sure she wanted him to know she was here yet.

But Atum had other plans.

The gray stallion pulled away from the water and walked around Sakura that was still staring at the man in awe. But when she saw Atum move towards the man she quickly tried to grab his loss reins but failed miserable since Atum was ahead of her already. The pink haired woman cursed in her head for not paying more attention to Atum. Letting out a small sigh of defeat, Sakura hid behind a small rock and watched Atum head towards the beautiful man.

The red hair man pulled his gaze from the sky and turned towards Atum with little interest. The horse stopped at the water's edge and stared at the man that was staring back at him. Sakura held her breath at the scene before her and prayed to any god that was listening to please keep Atum safe. To her surprise Atum was the first to make the first move as he entered the water and slowly walked up to the man.

The man did not move and allowed the stallion to approach him. When the stallion now stood in front of him the red haired man slowly brought his hand up a bit and allowed Atum to sniff him. After a few moments Atum pulled away from his hand and nudge the man's head a little with the end of his muzzle. A tiny smile appeared on the man's face that made Sakura's heart flutter a little. And it fluttered again when the man started to pet Atum on the neck and scratch the spot under his mane that he liked so much.

In all her life Sakura has never seen someone like him and wondered if she was somehow dreaming all of this while she laid in the warm sand. But it all felt too real to be a dream so she mustn't be. Though it's hard to say at moment when her brain and body is dead tired from the long hours of traveling, and she could be imagining this man that looked to be the Pharaoh himself.

Being slightly careless for one moment Sakura stepped on a small twig that made a large snapping sound that caught the man's attention. She held her breath in fear as the man looked over towards her direction and narrowed his eyes. It was the first time that Sakura realized how cold his eyes where and how much anger they held. And yet she could see a small hit of loneliness in them to.

"Come out." He final spoke for the first time in a strong voice that sent shivers down her spine.

She was hesitant at first about showing herself, but did anyway. Taking a deep breath Sakura stood up from her crouching position and stepped away from the rock to face the man. She kept her head down and stared at the ground in fear of the man in front of her. After a while nothing happened and Sakura was growing a little curious to why nothing was happening yet.

Slowly she lifted her head up and saw that the red haired man didn't move from his spot in the water and stared at her with a mixer of surprise and awe. Sakura blushed in embarrassment at the fact that this… man if you can call him that was staring at her like that.

"This is your steed?" He finally spoke again that sent shivers down her spine.

"Y-Yes he is mine, his name is Atum." She shuttered.

The man nodded continued to stare at Sakura with quite a bit of interest. He knew that she was not from this land by features and clothing. Her skin was to pale for desert life and everyone in Egypt had black hair and brown eyes. But she had neither of those and had short pink hair that was still tied up, and beautiful emerald eyes that sparkled in the moonlight. She must have come from Greece he guess since he's seen familiar clothing like hers that people from Greece wore.

She was a picture of true beauty in his eyes and couldn't help but stare at her in awe. Women were never truly a great interest to him and none of them were beautiful in his eyes, but now he found this beautiful create out in the desert that may be far more beautiful than Nefertiti herself.

"I now know his name but I fear I do not know yours." He said.

"Oh," Sakura turned red again. "M-my name is Sakura Har… I'm mean Uchiha. Sakura Uchiha, the wife of Sasuke Uchiha."

The word wife seemed to hit a nerve for the man as he did not like the idea that she was already taken by another man. But judging by the look on her face she does not seem please with her marriage either.

"You don't look to please when you said you were a wife." He said.

"No… I am not. I was force into this marriage and to give up my dreams." Sakura said with a frown.

"I see." He mumbled.

"I-If you don't mind me asking sir, but may I ask for your name?" she asked.

He didn't look at her this time and seemed to be staring off into space while petting Atum. The man was wondering if he should give her his name or lie and give her a fake one. Those that know his name run in fear when they hear it in this land, but Sakura was not from this land and who knows what she'll do. Maybe she'll run from him or not. But who really knows.

"Gaara." He said.

She smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Gaara."

That smile of hers melted his frozen heart and made it do a back flip to. This woman was different from the other of this land and he was finding himself attracted to her. He had to have her he concluded and tonight he would see to that.

Finally he stepped towards her and pulled away from the horse, Atum wondered off somewhere. His walk was almost feline like that was carefully approaching its prey so it wouldn't run it off. Sakura was nailed to her spot on the ground as she watched Gaara approach her until he finally stood in front of her on the shore. He was at least a head taller than her and had to look down into her emerald eyes. Sakura couldn't move her body and only stared at Gaara with awe. It was almost like she was under a spell he cast over her to make her freeze.

Slowly he brought his hand up to her cheek and gentle rested his palm on it and stroked it lovingly. Having no control over her actions, Sakura closed her eyes and leaned into his gentle touch and realized how soft and warm it was.

"You hail from Greece, do you not?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I thought as much. I've never seen a woman like you, you are far different from the women here in Egypt. They are all dull and weak, but you… I see neither of that in you. Why is that?" Gaara stared into her now open emerald eyes, as if seeking his answer in them.

The pink haired woman shifted her gaze down to the ground as her cheeks grew red again. "I-I don't know. There's nothing really special about me, I'm just as plain as everyone else."

She felt a finger touch her chin and lifted her head up to stare into beautiful jade eyes.

"Not in my eyes. You are something else that interreges me to no end and that's why tonight I must have you." He said with a smirk.

A look of confusion appeared on her face as she stared at him. Sakura was about to ask him what he meant but was silent when a warm pair of lips were pushed agents hers. Sakura's eyes widen in shock at this sudden action and wanted to push him away, and yet… she could not will herself to do this. His lips were so soft, warm and gentle that she was finding herself melting in his arms. Soon she closed her eyes and returned the kiss with the same gentleness he gave her.

Sakura wasn't sure why she was kissing him, a total stranger she just met minutes ago that could be some murder or outlaw. But then again no outlaw is dressed like him, maybe he was sort of high ranking in the upper class. But whatever position he was all she knew was that there was something he was doing to her to make her submit to him so easily.

Gaara licked her bottom lip as he begged for entry to taste her beautiful mouth that he has been dying to taste when he first saw her perfect lips. She granted his wish and parted her lips slightly enough for him to push his tongue into her mouth to taste her for the first time. To him she tasted like sweet strawberries and vanilla scented flowers that made him shiver in dilate and want more of her heavenly taste. A small moan escaped her when she too got a taste of him as well. He tasted like early spring and fresh picked flowers that she couldn't name at the top of her head what flowers they were.

The need for air forced them to break the wonderful kiss as they both gasped for air. But Sakura didn't get much of a chance to catch her breath when she gasped in surprise at the hot wet mouth on her neck. A low deep moan came from her when Gaara sucked on a sensitive spot on her neck what would definitely leave a large red spot.

He then dragged them down to the sandy grassy ground and gentle laid her down as his mouth never left her neck, leaving more red spots behind. Somewhere in the back of her mind Sakura knew that this was all very wrong and she should stop him before it got out of hand. But the feeling of his mouth felt so good that her sense of judgment went flying out the window. She felt her robes slipping off her body but made no move for protest to stop him from undressing her. The red head shifted down from her neck and to her perfectly round breasts. Gaara covered them in gentle kisses and licked hard over her perk nipples that made her let out a small scream. He then took one in his mouth and sucked gentle on it at first and then became a little harsher. Sakura was feeling dizzy by the torture he was giving her and felt heat building up in her lower stomach.

It felt like hours to her as he continued to torture her body. But finally his body left hers and the sound of the ruffle clothing followed it. Her body was too tired to move and all she could do was stared up at the starry night with half closed eyes. It was the first time she realized how beautiful the night was here in the desert and how bright the moon was. In Greece it wasn't like this, this was more beautiful. Her gaze was then blocked by the red head man as he hovered over her completely naked to. She knew what was about to come and wanted nothing more to stop. But her mind was still dizzy by the torture earlier and there was something he was doing to her so that she couldn't deny him.

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips and pushed himself inside her in one swift movement. Sakura screamed in his mouth at the pain as tears rolled down her cheeks. Pulling away from the kiss Gaara licked her cheeks clean of tears and nuzzled her lovingly.

"Tell me when the pain is gone." He whispered to her.

After a while the pain was gone and he could feel her hips shifting at the new feeling of him inside. Finally she gave him a tired nodded and started to move in and out of her. Her moans turned into screams that filled the night as this man… no, this god like man continued to pounded into her all throughout the night as she felt her release over and over again as he continued to spill his seeds deep then into her until she passed out.

**Now before any of you say I rushed into it to soon I want to say that you should do your Greek homework. In the Greek stories Zeus, Apollo and other gods like them lust after many women and forced them to have sex with them. Though in the stories they made it sound like that the young maidens gave themselves to the gods without a fight. But most of the stories say that they are either married or did not wish to be with a god. So there for I believe that the gods did something to the woman of their choice to submit to them so easily, and that's what I tried to do.**

**Alright now that's all cleared up I want to say that tomorrow I'm leaving for a 2 week trip to Rome and Greece, yay for me! **

**Please review!**


	5. Arc I Chapter 4: Reality

**This chapter was made solely by The Lord's Fallen Angel.**

**-Itachis rose**

_OMG!_

_It's been for ever since I put something up because of that stupid virus my old computer got._

_Anyway I'm happy to say that I finally put something up after all these long painful months. Sorry if the grammer sucks hbut I'm kind of too lazy to check it and I'm sure you all are dying to know what happens. SO here it is!_

Chapter 4: Reality

Darkness was all she could see and feel around her. There was a heavy fog holding her down in the darkness as she could not free from herself from this strange darkness. But that was okay, for she did not wish to break free from with peaceful, wonderful darkness she was trapped in. She doesn't even remember how she got into the darkness in first place, weather she put herself here or someone else did. But Sakura did not care of the reason how and why she was here as long as she can still drift through the dark without a care in the world.

"Sakura…"

A distant voice called her that seemed somewhat familiar to her.

"Sakura… wake up."

Wake up? Was she asleep?

The darkness around her soon disappeared as bright light broke through the darkness towards her. The warm light bathed over Sakura as the darkness was completely gone now and replace with a white blinding light that would make anyone blind.

Sakura's eyes slowly fluttered open to reveal blurry visions of different colors (mostly brown) and shapes. Finally her vision cleared before her as she could see everything clearly now. Feeling slightly groggy from her sleep, Sakura carefully pushed up into a setting position and got a better look at her surroundings. And to her utter surprise she was in the back garden of the house where she and Sasuke are living temporarily.

How in the world did she get back to the house, the last thing she remember was running off into the desert with her horse. And then found a large oasis when she thought she would die from desert surely. And then a handsome man appeared at the oasis before her and was obvious to her and her horse's presence. But when the stallion when to make himself know to the man and spotted her, well… one thing led to another.

Sakura's cheeks instantly turn red as she remembered what she did with the man that night. Their hot sweat bodies mixed together, frisky hunger fingers roaming over each other's bodies, hot mouth kisses all over one another…

"Sakura, are you alright?"

It was then that the pink haired woman noticed that she was not alone. Looking up next to her she saw Sasuke with a slight concern and annoyed look on his face. Now Sakura quickly became worried. Why was Sasuke here, did she come looking for her the last night? Does he have an idea what she did last night? Did he see the red haired man? Oh Hera! She lost her virginity to the name known as Gaara last night! What will Artemis do if she found out, or is she already found out!

"Sakura, Sakura!" Sasuke called out to her.

"Huh?" she came back.

"Are all right, the maids and I were starting to worry about you." he told her.

"W-Worried?" she asked.

He gave a small nodded. "They were worried about you when you took off during dinner and never saw you again."

She went pale.

"But thankfully you didn't go far." he said.

She gave him a confuse look. "I didn't?"

Now it was his turn to give her a weird look. "Yeah, short after I got home late last night they found you sleeping over the rim of the fountain."

It was then she notice that she was indeed leaning over the rim of the fountain. How in the world did she get here? She didn't remember being near this fountain let alone the garden it's self when she fell asleep.

"I was going to bring you inside last night but you looked kind of peacefully sleeping out here. So I let you be." he then narrowed his eyes at her and lead forwards her a bit. "But maybe I shouldn't have. It looks like you got some nasty bug bites all over you neck and shoulders, so big ones at that."

'Bug bites?'

Quickly turned back to the fountain and lead over the rim to get a better look at her reflection. Just as Sasuke said there large bug bites all over her neck and shoulder.

"Let's get you inside and clean you up." said Sasuke.

The pink haired let her husband help her on to her feet as she was still memorized at her reflection. Once she was standing on her feet a pain shot threw in between her legs as she cringed at the pain.

"I'm not surprise that you're in pain, you did have your legs tuck under you all night under the hard ground." said Sasuke.

"Yeah, I guess." was Sakura only reply as she was still slightly confuse at what was happening to her.

Could it all been a mere dream?

But it seems impossible, everything seemed so real to her then it couldn't be a dream. She felt hungry and dehydrated right now, like from last night. And the pain her legs and bite on her neck were all proof enough that last did happen and it wasn't a dream…and the stallion.

The Stallion!

"Sasuke, why don't you go inside without me. I have to go check on something in the barn, it won't take too long." she told him.

He eyed her for a moment but nodded and let her go.

Quickly Sakura darted to the barn in hopes that the horse its self would be proof enough if last night was real or not. If the horse was indeed there that would mean that everything was _indeed_ a dream and Sakura's mind was just running wild. But if the horse was still gone then it meant that it really did happen and it was a dream. But even if the horse was gone what would so she do then?

Reaching the barn, Sakura threw open the door and darted in as she search for the gray stallion that would hope answer her unspoken question. Searching through stall to stall and should not a find the horse she wanted as the growing feeling of last night start to become even more real by the minute.

Finally reaching the last stall of the barn she found the gray horse eating its breakfast in the corner. It was indeed the same gray stallion from last time that she rode into the desert with and found Gaara. The horse noticed Sakura and pulled away from its food as moved towards her sniff her pale perfect face.

Sakura was slightly shock at the sight of the horse that she wasn't really paying attention to him when he sniffed her. SO everything last night was indeed only a dream and was never really. But how could it not have been real when everything felt so real then. Like her neck and pain in her legs. But what Sasuke said about the bugs and the way she was sleeping last night did seem to make since to her. So maybe it was indeed a dream and was nothing more.

Looking at the horse she pulled her face away from him and gently petted his nose she stared at him with questioning eyes.

"Was it all a dream, was none of it real." she asked in the horse, almost hoping he would answer.

But the horses never did and only slightly sneezed in response.

(x)

It was finally time to depart from Egypt and return home to have Sakura's ceremony to leave the temple of Artemis. It was something that Sakura was dreading during their whole stay here in the land of sand. Once she left the goddess for good then Sasuke was free to do anything he wishes to her without provoking the goddess wrath.

It's only two days ago when Sakura awoke from her strange dream from within the garden of the house. She finally gave up on the fact it could have been reals as the facts around her pointed out it wasn't. In a way Sakura wish that her red headed lover that night was real and would take her away from everything, including Sasuke…Especially Sasuke.

But one can only dream.

The trip home would surely be a week and halves trip so it was plenty of time for the pink haired woman to think.

From behind she watched her husband saying goodbye to some of the higher levels of the Pharaoh's council while she stayed silent. After saying goodbye Sasuke returned to her and walked onto the book that would take Sakura home to see Konan.

The boat soon set sail and almost everyone in the city waved goodbye to the boat that Sakura and Sasuke were on. Sakura smiled at the people and waved goodbye by herself as her husband was somewhere else. She would miss this land and wouldn't probably come back more many years. The land that has brought her one of the most special dreams she had ever had, her one time lover.

Among the crowd that saw her off, she froze in her track as something caught her attention, something red.

In the very back of the crowd she spotted Gaara staring back at her with a blank face. His eyes showed so much desire in them along with something else that seemed unfamiliar. He was still as handsome as she remembers that night and as mysterious to.

One of the civilians paced right in front of Gaara, blocking her few of him for a moment. But once the civilian was out of the way, he was gone in a flash.

Did she imagine him, or was he really there? Was it really real that night or was it only a mere dream of hers. Whatever did happen that night she will never know, but it most like was only a dream.

_Oh the confusion sucks which!_

_Please review!_


	6. Arc I Chapter 5: Home coming

**This chapter was made solely by The Lord's Fallen Angel.**

**-Itachis rose**

_No people, you are not dreaming, I have finally updated this stroy after two years._

_I am going to try to finish this story but it's going to be shorter then I first planned it to be. But don't worry, it will still be good._

**Chapter 5: Home coming**

In the time before Christ, before even the Romans, Greece ruled the ancient world. With mighty forces, such as the Spartans and Trojans, Greece took the world by storm with a mighty fist and conquered every land in sight. With such great leaders and generals as like Alexander the Great, the world belonged to Greece and all the lands around them became theirs, and Turkey was one of them.

Turkey, home of the city, Ephesus, and the Temple of Artemis.

Turkey is found between Greece and Egypt, a month's trip to either from Turkey. That was how long it took for Sakura to return home from her honeymoon. Sakura didn't think she would be this happy to see the Turkish shores of her home this much. It seemed like eons since she last saw Turkey and its people, as if she was gone for years then only a few months. Even if Sakura was Greek she still saw the country of Turkey as her homeland for this is where she grew up.

Their ship docked at port and the sailors and workmen were already loading and unloading the cargo and pulling the ramps up to all passengers off the boat, mainly for Sasuke, Sakura, and their servants. Together, the newlyweds left the boat and walked down the ramp and walked towards where their horses waited to take them to Artemis's temple.

Sakura was excited to return to the temple, the place she saw as her home for many years. She even remembered the day that she came to the temple and became a priestess in training for the goddess. Some of the memories were foggy but most of them were clearer than others, but the ones she cherished the most were being with Konan and Tsunade, the high priestess before Konan. Tsunade was a strict teacher when it came to the ways of the goddess but a good one none the less. She taught Sakura and Konan that Artemis was a kind hearted goddess but also a ruthless one. She taught them what would please the goddess and what would set her off. Those were happy times then.

Mounting her horse, Sakura, along with Sasuke, lead the way to the temple with their guards following close behind them as well as a small hand full of servants. Riding down the main street, Sakura smiled and waved to people she knew since as a young child. In return they would smile and wave back but then quickly turn away when her husband glared at them, a disapproval look on his face.

Now that Sakura was royalty and force to leave her goddess, she could no longer do the things that she once loved to do as a peasant. Like going to the market, meeting new people that were traveling through Ephesus, seeing new bazaars from across the world, leaving the temple as she pleases without telling anybody where she was going, and even doing the choirs that Konan assigned her every day. Yes, as strange as it sounded Sakura did enjoy the hard work of caring the temple and the reward of seeing that hard work appreciated after words. It always made her feel good about herself.

Sakura's always been someone that did things for herself and not have others do it for her, she always felt guilty about that. No, she didn't like the fact of being a burden to someone and have them do everything for her, she wasn't helpless. She was a strong independent woman that did things for herself, and did it her way and not anyone else's, like her goddess. The pinkette always imagined herself being like Artemis, a strong powerful woman that does not bow before any man. So one out of two wasn't too bad she suppose, she was strong but still force to bow before her husband.

'_Give me strength to survive this marriage.'_ she silently prayed to the gods.

Sakura's prayer was cut short when a loud yell up ahead caught her attention. A large commotion was happening up head, a lot of shouting and… barking? As soon as she heard the barking a large group of hunting dogs appeared in the main street, just a good thirty feet away from Sasuke and Sakura. The dogs were going completely bonkers, barking at everything and everyone and attacking at the civilians. The hunting dogs then moved down the street, towards Sakura, barking at the horses and nipping at their heels. Sakura's horse suddenly reared back, throwing Sakura off its back.

Sakura landed on the ground, painfully, landing on her shoulder as she let out a small scream of pain but it was drowned out by all the chaos happening around her. Holding her injured shoulder, Sakura pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing a little as she does so. Suddenly, the pinkette notice that she was surrounded by the hunting dogs that seem to forget about the horses and men, growling deeply at her while showing their fangs. Seeing their sharp teeth, Sakura cringed back in fear at the hounds snarls towards her. Why were they focused on her all of a sudden?

After getting the horses under somewhat controlled, the guards charged towards the dog, swords ready to strike. But the dogs ran off before the guards could reach them and disappeared somewhere towards the edge of the forest. Sakura watched the dogs disappeared, still stun at what had just happened that she didn't notice Sasuke at her side.

"You alright?" he kneeled beside her.

She jumped a little in surprise at seeing Sasuke right there with her but answered none the less, a little shaken, "I-I'm fine." she tried to stand up but winced painfully, holding her shoulder.

Sasuke moved her hand out of the way and looked at her injured shoulder, "It seems you landed pretty hard on your shoulder, tell me if this hurts." he felt around her shoulder, trying to see if anything was broken when he did.

Sakura felt a little pain when he did this but nothing agonizing that she would make her think it would be broken. If her shoulder was really broken and he touched a broken bone then she would have definitely felt it.

"Nothing seems to feel broken, it seems that your shoulder is just badly bruised is all." her husband declared.

She hissed in pain when she moved her shoulder a bit, biting down on her bottom lip.

"Let's just get you to the temple and they can take care of you once we're there." said Sasuke.

She didn't answer Sasuke and kept staring at the spot where the hounds disappeared off to after the attack.

A few minute later, once the horses fully calmed down, and Sakura was lifted back onto her horse, the guards found out that the hounds running rampaging through city didn't belong to anyone. One of the eyewitnesses they questioned claimed that they saw the pack of hunting dogs coming out of from the forest and charged into the city without a hesitating step. So where the dogs went to, or where they came from was still unknown.

Now on their way again, The Temple of Artemis soon came into view. Sakura smiled at the sight of the temple and all its glory, its marble surface shining off from the sun's light, a sign of some kind that Apollo is smiling down on the temple on this beautiful day. Sakura carefully dismounting from her horse in front of the temple, with the help of two servants, she began to walk up the steps of the temple with Sasuke.

The temple was busy as ever, just the way Sakura remembered it last time. The people were busy among themselves, half praying to the goddess and the other looking about the small market place inside the temple. It didn't take long for Sakura to look among the crowd and spotted Konan's blue head by Artemis's statue, talking to an elderly couple. At the sight of the High Priestess, the pinkette made a beeline to her, leaving Sasuke behind without a second thought. But the time she reached her, the elderly couple left and Konan quickly spotted Sakura coming towards her. Konan smiled and met Sakura halfway as the older woman engulfed her into a tight hug. But when she did, Sakura winced in pain, causing Konan to pull back and look at the girl in alarm.

"Sakura are you okay, what happen to you? Are you hurt?" Konan asked right away.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sakura winced, holding her shoulder, "Alright, maybe fine isn't the best word. But I'm okay."

Konan moved Sakura's hand and looked over her shoulder. "But what happened?"

"I fell off my horse and landed on my shoulder. But thankfully I don't think it's broken."

The blue haired woman gave a, "hmm" sound, feeling over Sakura's shoulder and looking at her face for a reaction, there was none. "It does seem to be fine, the bone at least."

"I think it's just badly bruised is all."

"Well I think its best you rest. A fall from a horse can be serious."

Sakura didn't protest and let Konan lead her back to her old room that she used to share with Hanabi. The place was just as she remembered, nothing has been changed or moved, it was just the way she left it. It was too painful for her to lie down so she had to sit up and rest her wounded shoulder as best she could. Sasuke had followed them into her old room, speaking a little bit with Sakura before Konan shooed him away to let her rest, telling him to go pray to the goddess and pray to Apollo for her speedy recovery. Once left alone in her room, Sakura closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she tried to catch some shut eye.

(B R E A K)

Two days later after her fall, Sakura was feeling better but still quite sore from it. Sasuke had left her in the care of Konan and their goddess as he stayed on the other side of Ephesus, in the main library as he took care of some business that need to be done before he returned to Greece.

Today was the day of the ceremony, where Sakura will be released from Artemis's hold and free to finally give herself to Sasuke. You can imagine how excited she was for that, not. Sakura didn't want to be released from her goddess, she still wanted to be within her hold, stay with her and Konan in the temple forever. She was to be the next High Priestess after Konan, that was one of her dreams, one of her crushed dreams now because his royal arrogant pig headedness. Gods, she didn't even know why Sasuke even picked her the first place; surely there were other princesses out there for him to marry. But no, he had to pick her, a common priestess in training.

But the Fates seem to have other plans for her and that includes not seeing her dreams come true.

Dressed in a white cotton rob like gown, Sakura stood in the middle of her room, with Hanabi fixing her dress up for her, while staring at her reflection in the mirror. The pinkette had to admit she did look quite pretty in white since it brought her natural pink hair out more. With the finally touch ups, Hanabi grabbed an olive wreath with a crested silver moon on it, off the table and gentle placed it on top of Sakura's pink head. Fixing the wreath a little, Sakura was ready for the ceremony.

Hanabi lead Sakura out of their room and outside the back of the temple, into the wilds, Artemis's sacred lands. Outside everything looked beautiful to Sakura, the trees decorated with beautiful white and silver streamers, flowered vases along the grass, and large table set in the middle with a statue of Artemis in the middle with her sacred stag at her heel. On the table by the statue were little items that Sakura couldn't quite make out what they were for she was to busy looking at the set up around her.

Konan really out did herself.

"Sakura!"

Hearing her name being called, Sakura looked over to where someone shouted for her and got quite a pleasant surprise.

"Naruto! Hinata! Ino! Kiba!" she squealed in delight at the sight of her friends and raced over to them.

Ino was the first to hug Sakura, holding a small infant that looked to be two mouths old in one arm, and held hugged Sakura with the other. She hugged Naruto next and then moved over to a pregnant Hinata, who to was holding a child in one arm that was two years old, and hugged her. And last she moved over to Kiba and hugged the big lug, congratulating him and Ino on their baby.

"What are you guys doing here?" the pinkette asked with a big smile once she hugged everyone.

"Konan summoned us here." said Naruto.

Hinata nodded. "Hanabi told us everything about the prince and that you're leaving the temple."

"Man Forehead, when the prince came that day I didn't know he came to marry you." said Ino. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay Ino." said Sakura.

"You sure you're okay. We all know how dedicated you are to Artemis, especially me being a hunter and follower and all." Kiba asked.

Sakura's smiled dropped as she sighed heavily. "Truth is I really don't want to leave the goddess, I still want to a priestess. But there is nothing I can do against the prince once he choosed me."

"So you're really married to him?" Naruto asked.

Her answer was a sad nod.

"Sakura." Konan approached the group of friends, dressed in the ceremonial robes of Artemis, "It's time we begin. Are you ready?"

She sighed once more with a frown. "I suppose I'm ready as I ever will be."

(B R E A K)

The ceremony was going great so far, the first part at least. The first part was worship of Artemis, Konan making a big speech those that are wittiness the ceremony of Artemis, from her birth and how she helped her mother, Leto, birth her brother, and to her pledging to be an immortal maid. It always amazes Sakura how Konan can make the goddess sound such a saint even when she tells stories of her when she clearly is not.

After the worshiping of the goddess, it was time for Sakura to approach Konan. With a white silk see through vial place on her head, Sakura slowly walked towards the High Priestess, passing her friends as she reached Konan. Reaching her, Sakura kneeled down before her, bowing her head as if paying her respects to her and Artemis. The blue haired woman stood before Sakura, lifting the vial to show Sakura's face. Placing her hands over Sakura's head gently, Konan then began prayer to the goddess.

Before two words left her lips, a loud roar echoed behind them and the table. Whipping around, Sakura and Konan saw three large bears emerge from the forest, three large grizzlies by the looks of it. They roared and charged through the ceremony, destroying everything in their path. Quickly, the two women scrambled out of their way, joining the group of Sakura's friends and Hanabi. They stayed together, backing away from the bears as the destroy everything, trying not draw any attention to the group.

While back up quickly, Sakura suddenly slipped and falling to the ground pretty hard, making a large thug as she did. Naruto was the one that went to her aid when she fell. But when he went to reach her, a large stag then emerge from the forest, charging straight for Naruto with his antlers aimed for him. It was Ino and Hanabi that saw the stag and pulled Naruto out of the way before he was hurt. Seeing the stag, the whole group took a giant leap back away from it, leaving Sakura on the ground.

Sakura watched the large stag as it circled around her, lowering its head down to a threatening manner to with its antlers. As she watched, she couldn't help but notice that it was a strange coloring for a stag; instead of a brownish color it was greyer. No, it was more of a silver color. Eyeing Sakura one last time, the stag then charged off into the forest, leaving the humans, as the three bears soon followed its lead, disappearing into the forest to. Once they were sure the animals were gone, Hinata and Ino handed the kids over to their husbands and rushed to Sakura's side with Hanabi.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Ino asked first, holding her hand.

"Are you hurt?" Hinata asked next, checking her friend over.

Just a little shaken up, Sakura nodded yes. "I think so."

With the help of her friends, Sakura was helped up on to her shaky legs, staring off where the stag left in the forest.

"Where's Konan?" the pinkette asked.

They didn't have to search for her for long when they found that Konan was standing further away from the group then before. She had a horrified look on her face, her skin was as white as ghost, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and her body couldn't stop shaking.

Seeing her like this made Sakura worried, fearing that something terrible was wrong with her. "Konan! Konan, are you okay?" Sakura asked.

But she still kept on shaking, staring right at Sakura as if she were her grandmother's ghost.

"Konan…" Sakura whispered.

"Sakura, what have you done…." was the first thing that came out of the blue haired woman's mouth.

The pinkette looked confused as well as the rest of her friends.

"The stag that appeared… that is the sacred animal of Artemis." said Konan. "Those bears were no accident, she sent them here."

Shivers were sent throw everyone's spine.

Sakura stared at Konan in fear. "She sent them?"

It then dawn on the pinkette, the day she returned home, she always attacked before by the goddess. The hunting hounds were another symbol of Artemis, not a well-known one or an important one like the stag, but still another symbol of hers. That's why no one knew where the dogs came from or where they went to, the goddess sent them to attack Sakura.

"Sakura." Konan spoke. "That stag that appeared was a sign of the goddess and that she did everything that happened just now. Sakura… you have angered the goddess."

**To learn more about Artemis go to Wikipedia.**

**Please review!**


	7. Arc I Chapter 6: A False Dream

**Hey everyone, here I am just as promised with a chapter continuing ****The Lord's Fallen Angel****'s story, Virgin Blood. I hope that all of you like it. I also want to let you all know; I have no update system yet, so bear with me. On with the story!**

**Chapter 6: Discovery of a False Dream**

Konan lead the confused girl toward the back of the temple, their shadows danced on the walls as they passed each candle that hung there. Outside the sky was dark and bleak; Apollo had finished his ride across the heavens.

The high priestess' grasp on Sakura's wrist tightened, Sakura winced in pain, and her hands endured her mentor's hold on her.

Tripping over her feet, Sakura continued to follow the woman, her mentor quickened her pace. Konan's blue hair swished back and forward fiercely, their footfalls were silent on the polished marble floor.

After a few minutes they came to a sudden stop, Sakura glanced at her mentor in worry, the air around them was heavy and dead, thick with tension.

Konan rested her head against the nearby wall, she took a deep breath. Slowly the woman turned her head to Sakura, her amber eyes stared at her apprentice. The woman's gaze burned holes into Sakura's body.

Sakura shifted her weight from one foot to another, her head dropped.

Konan gave a heavy sigh, "Sakura, what have you done?"

The said girl kept her silence, shame filled her face, and she bit her cheek, her eyes roamed. Sakura took a light, shallow breath, "I don't know..." The girl's voice trailed.

Konan's eyes narrowed apprehensively at the girl, "You don't know?" The woman faced Sakura head on, her hands held at her hips, "Let me rephrase that, why is our goddess, Artemis, angered with you?"

Sakura gradually lifted her head, her eyes stared miserably into her mentor's, "I don't know why Artemis is angered," Sakura broke into a fit of tears, "it could be the marriage, or that dream, or-or something, anything!" Sakura cried desperately.

The woman's eye brow raised, "Dream? Tell me, what happened in this dream?"

There was a pregnant silence, the girl's already flushed face turned even redder as she looked away, she bit her lips and her eye brows furrowed, "When I was in Egypt with Sasuke, I-I had a dream. All I could think of was running away, to leave the room I was imprisoned in."

Sakura stopped, she looked to her mentor; Konan gestured for her to continue. Sakura closed her eyes and drew another shallow breath, "So I took a horse and galloped away from my prison into the desert." Sakura smiled as she remembered her dream, "It felt so good to feel freedom flow through your hair, the rush of the wind against your face, the unbearable heat seeping through your skin telling you you're still alive"

Sakura began to walk along the wall, her hand dragged against its smooth surface. She glanced at the marble ceiling in wonder as she continued to tell her mentor more of her fantasy.

"But then after a while that freedom was short lived, my throat was parched and begged for water, my stomach screamed for a scrap of food, I felt I was going to die in a god forsaken desert, never to see the light of day again. By some miracle, my horse and I came across some water in a small river; I realized that after I had quenched my thirst, there was a man." Sakura brushed the wall with her hands, "He was so perfect, and his skin was like this marble, as soft, smooth and just as beautiful." Sakura lifted her hands off the wall then brought them to her chest and closed her eyes, "His hair was as red as the blood that runs through our bodies."

Konan watched the girl lean on the wall; she saw Sakura's eyes flutter as the girl blushed even more.

"His kisses were gentle and filled with warmth I can't even describe," Sakura's face turned even redder, "his hands roamed my body, and his mouth trailed kisses from my neck to..." Sakura froze, realization hit her as hard as Zeus' mighty lightning bolt, her heart stopped as her eyes snapped open, she went deathly pale, "No...It can't be."

Sakura collapsed, she slid down the wall shaking her head in denial, "No, it was so real, it can't be."

Konan watched the girl fall pathetically to the floor of the temple; she could see the pain in Sakura's face as she mumbled incoherently. "I wasn't a dream was it?" her voice was cold. The woman treaded to the girl, her figure towering over Sakura, "What kind of relationship did you have with this man?"

Sakura hid her head between her knees, she rocked back and forward on edge, "I didn't know him, he took me right by the river." Sakura was filled with guilt and humiliation, "I can't believe I was so stupid..." tears of sorrow welded into Sakura's emerald eyes, her body shook as those tears fell down her cheeks.

The blue haired woman kneeled next to Sakura and pulled her into an embrace, Konan brushed Sakura's hair away from her face, just as a mother would do to a daughter. "You need to leave Sakura."

Sakura stiffened in her mentor's arms, her eyes widened, she looked at Konan's face, it held indifference, "Why?" she asked silently.

The question was suspended into the air and was left unanswered. Konan then pulled the girl off the ground, she lifted Sakura's chin lightly and looked directly into her eyes, "It is no longer safe for you to be here, the temple of Artemis cannot protect you." Konan's voice held its seriousness as Konan took Sakura in her arms once again, "You must run Sakura, run away as fast as you can." she then held her at arm's length, "Your husband will be furious, you have to go."

Sakura fell into Konan's arms; those were the words that every apprentice and priestess feared the most, dismissal and exile. Sakura's lunges heaved as more tears streamed down her face. Konan rubbed Sakura's back lightly, offering the girl as much comfort as she could. The two stood in silence.

Konan saw a shadow pass in the candle light, "Hanabi," Sakura's tears abruptly stopped as she heard her friend's name called, "I know you're there, come out."

The girl crept from behind the pillar, her face flush in embarrassment; her clear eyes glanced to the person who had caught her eves dropping.

Konan pulled away from Sakura and faced Hanabi, "I need you to tell Price Sasuke we are in prayer to Artemis."

Hanabi nodded, she turned sharply, her long, dark hair fluttered with the movement. She walked in the direction of the main sanctuary where a great statue of Artemis stood, the place where Artemis made her presence known.

Konan took Sakura's hand and dashed in the opposite direction of Hanabi. Their shadows moved faster and faster as they sprinted through the temple. Sakura saw a statue of Artemis and swore it was looking at her, following her every movement.

They passed a garden filled with the most beautiful flowers, the smell never reached Sakura's nose for they came to another part of the temple, the outdoor kitchen.

The two women crept inside into one of the back rooms, they came to a set of steep stairs and descended into the cellar. There Sakura saw an abundance of food, water, wine and other offering for the goddess they worshiped.

Konan let go of Sakura's hand, she roamed the wine racks brushing her fingers along the sides searching for something. Konan stopped when she felt a notch in the wood, she removed a bottle from its place on the rack and handed it to Sakura.

Sakura held onto the bottle as she watched Konan stick her arm into the compartment were the wine bottle used to reside, she pulled the wine rack, behind it was something Sakura never would have suspected, was a door.

Konan threw the door open, it creaked from lack of use. Behind that door was an entrance to a tunnel underneath the temple. Konan peeked at Sakura, she smiled as she saw astonishment that adorned the girl's face.

"This was made after the Trogon War," Sakura was shaken from her wonderstruck moment, she heard Konan continue, "The high priestess before me, Tsunade, had it built in case any attack would befall the temple, every person inside could escape."

Sakura stepped inside the tunnel, her bare feet felt the gravel beneath, and she looked to Konan as if she were asking permission to leave the temple.

Konan gave a nod, and also spoke to her, knowing it would be the last time she would ever see her, "Good bye Sakura, know that this was meant to be."

Sakura watched as her former mentor closed the door to the temple, her life, and protection. Sakura turned to the only place she had left, the opposite direction of the door. Sakura flinched when she heard a small click, the door was now locked, and this was the beginning.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me how I'm doing**!

**Please review!**


	8. Arc I Chapter 7: Blood of a Priestess

**Hey everyone, here I am just as promised with a chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I hope that all of you like it. I also want to let you all know; I have no update system yet, so bear with me. On with the story!**

**Chapter 7: Blood of a Priestess **

Sakura stared at the door silently; she reached for it, her fingertips lightly touching the waves of wood and sighed. Her entire world had crashed upon her; she was doomed the second her husband waltzed into the temple forcing her into marriage.

The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck rose as she felt a faint burst of air, turning sharply she came face to face with a small paper butterfly. Sakura's lips tugged as she smiled at the beautiful craftsman ship, bringing her hands up, he pale fingers brushed the soft wings tenderly, "Thank you Konan." She whispered, her words echoed in the tunnel.

Fluttering its wings the butterfly subtly landed on Sakura's nose, and took off dancing in front of her eyes a few feet ahead, beckoning for her to follow. Cautiously, Sakura took a step forward, her feet scuffling against the gravel; it was then that the butterfly took flight. Quickly the butterfly flew through the air, gliding left and right in the passage way, Sakura broke into a sprint keeping pace with the thing that would guide her to freedom.

Sakura swiftly turned through many corridors in the great tunnel, the sonorous sound of water dripping from the cave walls lulling her into a sense of security. Air rushed past her hair as she continued to be led by the butterfly. A faint melody of crickets chirping in the distance only gave Sakura more hope, "It will be okay." She told herself wordlessly. With one last turn the white butterfly came to an abrupt stop, it was the end of the line, it was the end of the labyrinth.

Sakura took a few steps toward the opening draped thickly with grape wines twisting every which way, the rich, deep fruit clustered together hanging motionless above the ground. With one arm she pushed aside the curtain of vines, moon light greeted the girl's eyes, a cool mist covered the dense forest, flowers bathed in the dews that rested on their leaves and petals. Sakura stepped out of the tunnel, her right foot treaded on the soft green grass, her head turned from side to side searching for any sign of threat, there was none. Sakura glanced over her shoulder looking at the butterfly that rested on the ground, its wings lifting from time to time, "Good bye, I will miss you."

As if receiving the message the paper butterfly lifted its wings, fluttering out of the tunnel and into the vast night sky.

Once when the butterfly was out of sight, Sakura turned to the forest, its branches seemed to twist into dark deformed hands, waiting to grab onto any poor soul that dares to enter its domain. Calmly, she entered the forest.

Meanwhile in the Temple of Artemis, the high Priestess sat in prayer in the gardens of the temple, her mind relaxed, but her heart racing, it would be any minute that the prince would interrupt her and pound her with questions like any enraged male…person would do.

From the entrance of the garden the said prince emerged, "Priestess," angrily he approached her, gliding across the gardens, "where is my wife?" he demanded.

Her eyes closed, mouthing, "Such arrogance."

Konan stood and turned to the young prince, her face void of any expression, she looked the boy in his eyes, "She has left." Konan made the move to walk away, but was suddenly stopped when Sasuke grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back, pulling her to him, a knife, positioned at her lower neck, glistened in the moon light above.

The Prince drove the knife closer to Konan's skin, "You will tell me where she is or I will kill you." Sasuke applied more pressure to the blade, emphasizing his threat, the priestess gave no answer. "Tell me," he growled, "tell me now!"

Taking in a deep breath, Konan answered him, "The gods have mercy on you for attacking a priestess of one of their own, Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Shame to you Prince Sasuke, the Gods are not enemies you want to make."

The Knife was not removed, nor pressed any further on her neck, swiftly Konan's fingers split into many sheets of paper, "The gods gave me a gift." Instantaneously the paper tore from her body, thousands if papers decorated the garden, all of them drifting in the air, her face and body disappeared entirely. "I intend to use it."

Sasuke watched as the priestess's body reformed in the air above him; wings seemed to grow from her back as each piece of white paper folded into deadly weapons. Sasuke smirked and sheathed his knife, and drew his sword, its handle decorated in gold and one ruby gem rested on top of the hilt.

Quite stubbly a paper butterfly joined Konan in the air, landing lightly on her shoulder; she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if memorizing the scent of the garden around her. Then when her eyes flashed open, the small butterfly was torn to shreds. Gracefully the tiny pieces of paper drifted to the ground, dancing in the light wind.

Konan landed on the ground, her body reformed piece by piece,, paper still floated through the air. Konan glided to the young prince and stopped, she stood a couple feet away from him, "Put down your weapon," she called to her paper and it swiftly wrapped around her arm forming into a lethal blade, "or I will take action against you."

The prince's shoulders shook in furry, his hand was clenching his sword so tight his knuckles bled white. "Guards!" he roared, his voice faltered, his eye brows furrowed, "Guards!" he snapped even louder.

Two men marched into the garden and saluted their prince; their armor glistened in the moon light, swords hung loosely around their waist, and their helmets seized in their arms. The first guard spoke, "How may we be of service, my prince?"

Sasuke turned his head sharply, looking away from Konan for just a moment, and glanced to the guards behind him, his anger noted by one of the two, "I want you to gather all of my men scour this temple, search the entire area; find my wife."

The men gave a quick bow of their heads, saluted, and left the garden, their sandals tapping heavily on the white marble floors of the Temple.

Once when the two men were out of sight, the prince turned his head to the high priestess and his eyes onyx eyes melted away and flared red like the fire of Hades. "As for you priestess, unless you want your temple torn down pillar by pillar, and your blood spilt on its marble floors, you will tell me were my wife is."

Konan raised her blade, "Your wife is gone, she is no longer here, and if you lay one hand on my temple you will die."

The prince's eyes narrowed, "Oh really, and what would your precious little boyfriend think about that you would throw away your life for a little girl and a house made of stone?" he circled the priestess as she stood in fear, confused. Sasuke continued, "You are not the only one that is gifted, I know everything about you and your life." He raised his sword and aimed for his first attack, "You have one last chance, where is my wife?"

Lifting her blade, she shifted into a battle stance, her amber eyes watching the prince, looking for any movement that would come from the boy. Crashes were heard from the temple, and a high pitched scream filled the air, wailing for help, "Hanabi!"

Konan ran toward the entrance of the temple, but she was stopped abruptly by an attack made by the greisen prince, "Your fight is with me priestess," Sasuke paused, "she is in pain because of you" Sasuke swung his sword again, and this time it was blocked by Konan's strong Paper Blade. Sasuke ran his weapon alongside Konan's coming face to face with the woman, "To think that you let the man you loved die for you, you should've died with him." Konan pulled away from Sasuke and slashed her blade at the prince, missing. Tears misted the priestess's eyes and she lifted her weapon again, slicing at the prince as he moved smoothly from left to right blocking every swing she threw.

The prince drew his knife with his left hand and with both blades he attacked Konan again, cutting her pale skin and drawing the first drops of blood. Konan winced in pain and lost ground in the battle. Around them, the temple was set ablaze, every priceless item removed by greedy soldiers, no room was left untouched. Konan moved away from Sasuke and ran through the doorway of the temple the prince following her in tow.

Konan dodged every silken curtain that was alight with orange and red flames, her shadow danced in the fire light. She continued to make her was through the temple, the marble floor against her feet was getting hotter and hotter and seeped through her leather sandals, reaching her destination, she pushed open the doors of the main room of the temple, she chocked at the scene before her, in front of the great statue of Artemis, the body of Hanabi was chained before the statue, beaten and bruised, even more horrified at the sight of her bloodied lower region. Konan hastily ran to the statue of the goddess and fell before it, "Dear Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, please forgive me, I have failed in protecting what I have been charged with. Help me dear goddess, I don't know what else to do…" Konan bowed her head.

The prince shadowed behind her and laughed, "Praying, in this situation? How pathetic, your goddess has abandoned you." The fire around them slowly began to build even more, the high priestess stood and glared at the prince, her arms and legs divided into many raging sheets of paper all of them aimed at the prince's body. Sasuke darted in front of Konan with his sword drawn and pulled back his arm preparing to make his final blow that would end the woman's life.

With her defenses down, Konan was unable to dodge the attack made by the boy, as if in slow motion the blade punctured through one side of her body and out the other. The pain was delayed, but when it did come it felt as if the fire around them had condensed and ravaged her body. She felt thick blood slowly slither up her throat and bubble through her pale lips, her lungs heaved and begged for oxygen, and her eyes widened in shock. The sheets of paper that were aimed at the prince drifted to Konan, all of them coming together again, her libs reformed. Her fingertips shook and twitched, with one last pulse of energy Konan pulled the prince near her, her blood staining his clothes, once when the two were face to face, "Y-Y-You m-m-monst-t-er…" she breathed. Sasuke pushed the priestess onto the floor next to the dead little girl who had lost her virtue too early in her life. Konan reached her hands to the girl's face and pushed away her hair from her face and rested it on the girl's cheek, "I'm sorry Hanabi."

Konan's eyes faded, she was gone, as was the former temple of Artemis.

Sasuke left the two bodies in the temple that was still ablaze, the flames dancing gracefully, his blood red eyes faded into its original onyx color. The prince made his way into a garden that was yet to be touched by the fingers of the flames, "Damn that woman to Hades." Sasuke paced back and forward in the garden, passing many flowers and trees; suddenly he stopped and threw a punch at one of the trees, ramming his fist into the bark of the tree. Pulling back Sasuke watched as blood seeped from his skin, he inspected as it formed into dark pools on his fist and drip to the ground and stained the stone.

"I need that woman, if the blood in my veins is to continue to flow in future generations, I need that woman; I need an heir." Sasuke glanced at the moon, his eyes constricted in determination, "Sakura, my wife, wherever you are, I will find you, and you will be punished." Sasuke smiled hungerly, "and that punishment will pleasure me, I will enjoy taking you."

The moon's light was then covered by clouds, and the prince's lustful face was hidden by shadows.

I would like to thank those of you who reviewed!

Sam, LibertyForFreedom455, Dragon MistressLove, XBloodMageRikaX, ShadowFoxAngel, NicoXChiku says Cata, Yuuki-Hime 2097, hyuugahinata247 and The Lord's Fallen Angel!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me how I'm doing**!

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	9. Arc I Chapter 8: Lost, Hunted, Alone

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I hope that all of you like it. I also want to let you all know; I have no update system yet, so bear with me. On with the story!**

**Oh yeah! I would like to thank my reviewers, whose names I will mention at the end of the chapter, for of course, REVIEWING! You guys don't know how much it means to me to receive a review!**

Morpheus: is the god of dreams. Morpheus has the ability to take any human form and appear in dreams. His true semblance is that of a winged daemon, imagery shared with many of his siblings.

Aphrodite: Goddess of love, beauty, and desire. Symbols include the dove, bird, apple, bee, swan, and rose.

**Chapter 8: Lost, Hunted, Alone**

A few miles from the burning temple of Artemis, Sakura wandered through the forest of hands and teeth. Constantly, branches grabbed at Sakura's robes, snagging and tearing small holes into the fabric, biting at her exposed skin until scratches marred her impeccable soft beauty. Her clothes and skin were soaked from the mist still present in the forest, sweat and condensation had built up on her body, water occasionally slid down her face, her hair tangled from the journey. Tired and hungry, the girl fell to her knees, her cheek met the moistened earth, and her jade green eyes drooped and begged for rest. Sakura's muscles had given up on her and no longer allowed her any movement. Her body tensed and relaxed as it shut down, her mind raced, but that too, became misted and hazed, her heart beat slowed with each breath she took, her rosy lips parted.

Against her will, Morpheus, the god of dreams, descended into her mind, cradling her sub-consciousness and rocked the girl to sleep, lightly sprinkling the dust of sleep onto her eyes. Sakura's fingers curled and her long, black eye lashes had shut, she sighed and a smile graced her small, lovely lips. She drifted.

Sakura awoke in a meadow; tall grasses flowed swiftly in the wind like sea weed dancing in the ocean current. She lay on the ground, each blade of grass tickling her nose. Pure moon light touched that earth, the dark, navy blue sky dotted with many stars. She sat up; stretching her arms above her head, closing her eyes tightly, she gave a soft whimper as she yawned.

When she opened her eyes, they came face to face with those of a deer; she sat there frozen in her spot not wanting to scare it away. The deer cautiously approached her, its hooves light as feathers on the ground, sniffing her, the deer nudged Sakura, its eyes filled with wisdom and warning. Sakura reached for the deer, wanting to touch its fur. The palm of her hand rested on the forehead of the deer, the two peacefully sat in silence and wonder, as if both creatures understood each other.

Suddenly, the deer's ears perked and twitched and then took a few steps away from Sakura, it pulled lightly at Sakura's clothes beckoning her to move, to run, and to get away. The deer flinched abruptly and ran; she felt the urge to follow and did what her instinct told her to do. Sakura galloped and bounded through the tall grasses just behind her cream colored deer, she soon came to a herd of deer, each one also running. Sakura was struck, why was she running?

Swiftly an arrow whistled through the air, puncturing the back of the deer beside her, Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she watch another deer sub come to an arrow. She glanced over her shoulder and she saw the hunters of Artemis, each woman had a bow and arrow in their possession, each woman had that arrow aimed at a deer. Then she saw her, Artemis herself, her own bow and silver arrows in hand and aimed…at her! Sakura ran faster, Artemis aimed, and released the arrow, just when the arrow embedded its self into Sakura; a bright flash of light filled the meadow.

Crack…

Sakura's eyes fluttered.

Snap, snap…

She flinched, her ears started to awaken.

Crack…crack, snap…rustle.

Sakura lifted her body off of the ground, silently, soundlessly, she crept to a tree, her back pressed against the trunk; she watched her surroundings, like a mouse being hunted by a great male lion.

The branched and twigs around her started to snap and break, each crack fell into a pattern, each noise got louder and closer as time passed, each second, she drew upon a shallow breath.

Rustle…rustle, crack, crack…snap!

She froze and flinched as the branches continued to crumple under the feet of her unknown pursuers. Sakura's eyes strained to see who or what was hunting her, it was there, in the distance, the flowing of blue togas in the wind the colors of her imprisonment. Sakura cautiously stepped around the tree; her bare feet caressed the cold, damp ground. Her first small strides were made in silence, she balanced on her toes as she tried to evade the guards marching just a few feet behind her.

"**SNAP!**"

Sakura cringed, she looked at the twig beneath her feet that betrayed her, she heard the guards stop their marching, she was sure that they were listening for any sign that she was out there. She waited for the marching to continue, for them to leave her be. Sakura bit her bottom lip, blood rushed to her lips making them rosy red, her eyes glanced to the blue sky above her, the clouds floated gently in the wind, each one making their own unique shape. "Please, Gods almighty, please let me get out of here alive." She whispered.

"The gods aren't going to help you, you little whore." Sakura jerked her head and came face to face with the fabric of a bright blue toga and the shining armor that glistened in the rising sunlight. The guard's face held a rough, wicked smile; battle scars marred his suntanned body. But what alarmed her was the look in his eyes; his eyes wandered her body hungrily, undressing her in his sick mind. He leaned in and cupped the side of her face with his calloused hands, "I has been a while since I have bedded a woman…" his other hand reached for her breast. She held her breath and closed her eyes tightly.

"Altalo! Remember orders." A man approached them through the thick density of the trees; his silver helmet was completely off and revealed his dark brown hair. Two men flanked the man that approached, both of them in the same armor as the man that held her trapped.

"The prince said to find her, and bring her back, he didn't say anything about having a little fun," The man looked into Sakura's green eyes, and licked his lips. "Weren't we?"

The man made a move to capture her lips with his, disgusted, Sakura immediately kicked the man in the knee and pushed him to the ground with all of the strength that she could muster, she then tried to run but was pulled to the earth, "How dare you, filthy woman." He straddled her around her waist, his thighs kept her immobile, he raised his arm, and struck her cheek using incredible force with the back of his hand, he raised his arm again and balled his hands into a fist and aimed to strike her again.

Just as his fist descended to make its blow, it was caught by the hand of another, and "You will stop this at once. I will not tolerate you striking a woman in my presence. Do I make myself clear?" The man gestured to one of the men behind him to come forward, "Damon, do help this young lady to her feet. Altalo, get off of her."

The one called Damon marched to her, grabbed Altalo's shoulders, yanked him off of her body and roughly pushed the man to the ground carelessly. He offered his hand tenderly, his soft blue eyes called to her; she knew that he meant her no harm. Sakura grabbed his hand weakly, his masculine hands embraced her small feminine one, he pulled her lightly to her feet, "Are you injured?" he asked her noiselessly, he brought his hand to her hair and softly brushed away a leaf, he looked at the cuts on her body.

She shook her head, inaudibly she whispered, "No" and remained silent.

The man that stopped Altalo approached her and dismissed Damon, "It has been a while since we have last seen each other Sakura." The girl looked at the man and studied his features, his facial hair grew from his sideburns to his chin, and his chocolate eyes gazed at her.

"Asuma?" she questioned, she wasn't sure who this person was, but he had to be that soldier, the one that had visited the temple so many years ago, asking for Artemis to bless his child with a remarkable skill in hunting, and protection for himself.

The man smiled as the girl remembered his name, "It is me. It is hard to believe that so long ago you were in that temple, helping me and showing me around the temple. It is too bas now that it is gone." Asuma said bitterly.

"I-It's gone?" Sakura's jaw dropped, how could the great temple of Artemis fall, it seemed impossible, "What do you mean by gone?"

"Burned, every last bit of it except for the stone, burned to the ground, I am deeply sorry, I know how much the temple meant to you." Asuma grabbed her hands, "I want to also inform you that, regrettably the high priestess and the priestess in training have passed on."

Sakura's world around her stopped, 'Konan, Hanabi, what have I done? I didn't mean for this to happen,' tears accumulated in Sakura's eyes, her cheeks flushed and red. Her throat constricted, and she wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, 'this isn't possible, this isn't real, it can't be, no, no, no, no.' Sakura bit her tongue, her scream echoed across the mountainous area, "NO!"

Sakura collapsed to the ground her entire body shook involuntarily, her nails tore at her arms, and blood was drawn from her silky white skin, the girl sobbed for the loss of her mentor and her best friend.

A dark voice drifted to her ears, her cries paused, "Her virginity tasted good, and the horror in her eyes pleased me, she was such a pretty little thing before I killed her."

Sakura's cries of sorrow turned into screams of anger, "You sick bastard! How could you take a young girl?"

Altalo smiled, his teeth white as marble, his face twisted, and a crazed blood lust filled his eyes, "You could say, that I was…bored." The man took out his knife, the blade completely shinny and clean, but the hilt was covered in blood, from old and dry to new and wet. Altalo began to drag his blade down a tree's trunk, "And this is exactly how I cut her spine, from the top of her neck," the blade continued its decent, sap bled from the tree, "to the base of her-

"Altalo, I have heard enough!" Asuma's fists cracked, "and you have said enough. You will sit down and be quite, or leave." Asuma carefully looked at the girl to his right, her head was casted downward, and her soft, pink pastel hair hid her face like a curtain. The man looked pityingly at Sakura's shaking body as her muscles tensed, relaxed, and tensed again. "Sakura?" Asuma reached for the girl, but his hand met empty air.

Sakura ran on weak knees, her body was unresponsive, and her blood was oddly cold, she was afraid. Air left her lungs as she exhaled, and she drew upon more air to support her burning limbs. She felt dead inside, she felt as if her entire world had tumbled to the ground.

Asuma watched the girl run in silence, he would let her go but, 'Orders are orders. I apologize Sakura.' The man quickly stood and gave his orders, "Damon, Altalo, you both go after the girl, I will be right behind you, go! Basil, report to prince Sasuke, tell him our location, and we are in pursuit of the girl."

The third man saluted Asuma and shouted, "Yes, sir!" and sprinted into the green, dense forests, his destination, the burning Temple of Artemis.

Sakura frantically took in more air, her lungs burned, her stomach felt as if it was on fire. "Oh, beautiful Gods above, I don't know if I will be able to run any more, please give me strength!" she cried, she herd the orders given by Asuma, she understood why he had to make those orders, she also understood what it meant, she had to run, she could feel the two men behind her breathing down her back, chasing her relentlessly. She was tired, it has been about a day since she has last slept, two days since she has last eaten, she was starved and emotionally exhausted. Sakura tripped over her feet time and time again, she was losing speed, her eyes blurred, black spots marred her vision, and she was still gasping for air. Her head was spinning, her limbs numb, her bones could've shattered under the pressure they were under. Her heart could burst. "Please, help me."

Sakura was then pushed to the round, hard. Sakura raised her head in fear, she crawled pathetically away from the person that knocked her down, and her eyes gazed to the man that stood above her, it was Altalo. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A wild smile spread across his face, he skulked to her level on the ground, "Now where did we leave off?" The man's cold clammy hands grabbed at Sakura's waist and inched closer to her chest, "I remember." The man pulled back one of his arms and his hand plunged onto Sakura's breast, groping her. She was too weak to fight him.

Suddenly there was a burst of wind, the sky had darkened, thick clouds covered the risen sun, and water fell from the sky harshly. There was a strike of lightning, the entire forest glowed radiantly, bears morphed from the trees, and wild stags grew from the grass. Each animal glared at Sakura's attacker. A golden stag flew from the sky, and transformed into the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. Her brown curly hair flowed down her back, her bow in hand and her arrows strapped to her back. Her radiant brown eyes also glared at Sakura's attacker. Artemis drew one of her arrows silently; the bears ran at Altalo, their claws raised, they slashed at his skin tearing it from its flesh. Artemis aimed, her arms relaxed and at ease, one by one the wild stags charged Altalo, each stag stabbed Altalo's body with their horns. Artemis fired.

Altalo's cries of agony filled the forest; the animals slowly receded into the grasses and trees, his blood left behind on the bark and green blades.

The goddess glided to the body, anger evident on her beautiful face, she held her hand over the body and raised it. Before Sakura's eyes, the man's "spirit" rose from his body. The goddess' hand reached for the spirit's neck, and grasped it furiously, "You dare touch a young priestess and expect mercy from me, you burn my temple, and expect forgiveness, you kill one of my priestess' and you expect humility? You are wrong, you are not a god and you will never be one." The goddess tightened her hold on the spirit and it exploded, dust fell to the earth.

Sakura watched the goddess as she killed the spirit, she was thankful to Artemis for saving her. Artemis raised her head to the girl a smile did not appear on her face, she looked blankly at the girl, "Don't think that I have forgotten what you have done, I am very disappointed in you." The goddess straightened her posture and offered her hand, "Come." Sakura stood up shakily, and lost her balance as she caught the goddess' hand, the goddess steadied her, but Sakura fell to the ground again, she emptied her stomach onto the ground, and her face became red and feverish. "Child I am here," The Goddess said lovingly, she lightly rubbed Sakura's back and smiled, "I give you strength, now stand."

Sakura slowly stood with the help of the goddess, she staggered onto her feet and leaned against the goddess, "I am sorry goddess, I am the one who caused this disaster, and I should be punished." Sakura clung to the goddess' robes and cried, "I have caused them so much pain, they are dead because of me," tears ran down her face, "your temple has burned to the ground because of me, I tried my best, I tried my best…"

"Sakura, there are things that you must learn in life, things happen. Yes, I am disappointed in you and your actions. But I am also disappointed by the actions made by your husband, yes you are the reason my temple was burnt down, but he was the one who set it ablaze and killed two of my priestess'. I will not tolerate him; he will receive no sympathy from me ever." Artemis took Sakura's hands and led her deeper into the forest, and further up the mountain. "I have never disliked you Sakura, I have never thought less of you, every day in the temple you did your job, you were loyal to me, but what impressed me the most is that every day, you served me with a smile on your face." Artemis and Sakura neared a cave the resided next to a river, both of them sat on the rocks near the water, "When I saw that this Prince Sasuke was going to take you away, I was furious, I was going to do something, but that damn Hera had to have her say in the matter, she thought that you and the Prince would do well together. She knew that I treasured you, and she wanted to take you away from me, just to spite myself and Apollo because of her jealousy." Artemis removed her hands from Sakura's and looked her directly in her eyes, "You are now going to be hunted by Hera, and she is going to try to push to two of you together. Hades is on the prince's side because he gave the Uchiha's the gift to see into another's soul. My brother and I will try to protect you as much as we can, but I am fearful that this will start another feud among the gods."

Artemis stood and pointed at the cave, "You will find food in there, rest as much as you can, and I will send one of my huntress' to you, she will guide you to a safer location. Good bye Sakura, know that I will always be watching."

Ant with those words the goddess faded into a ball of light and ascended to the heavens.

**I would like to thank those of you that reviewed!**

**hyuugahinata247, thingofmyth, Dragon MistressLove, XBloodMageRikaX, Sam, ShadowFoxAngel, LibertyForFreedom455, Beautifulinsanelove, YuukoAzmasaki, kittykat6625, Infinity, bluerose, and ninita2demonio.**

**By the way! Happy 20,000 words!**

**Message for Sam forgot my password:**

I amsorry you forgot your password! I am glad you like this story as much as the other people who are reading it! I enjoy writing this story, and I hope you all like reading it!

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Your review was PRICELESS! I loved it, the whole T.V. suspense thing! Haha. Just keep reviewing, you make me laugh and I need that once in a while!

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I am going to be updating once to twice a month. Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer two reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

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	10. Arc I Chapter 9: Death of a Pharaoh

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I hope that all of you like it. I'm sorry I have missed a couple of updates, so I am going to try to make up for it in this chapter, and I also want to let you all know; I have no update system yet, so bear with me.**

**Oh yeah! I would like to thank my reviewers, whose names I will mention at the end of the chapter, for of course, REVIEWING! You guys don't know how much it means to me to receive a review!**

The Temple of Artemis: The Temple of Artemis was really burnt down in history on July 21, 356 B.C. by Herostratus. The Ephesians sentenced him to death and forbade anyone to speck his name, under the pain of death. It was said the burning was coincided with the birth of Alexander the Great; Plutarch remarked that Artemis was too preoccupied with Alexander's delivery to save her burning temple.

Nut: Goddess of the sky, whose body makes a canopy over the earth.

Geb: God of the earth, he controls the growth of vegetation.

Shu: God of the winds, son of Ra.

Ma'at: Goddess of truth, justice, and harmony. Associated with balance on earth.

Horus: God of light, keeper of wisdom. Son and avenger of Osiris, became king of Egypt after father's death.

Aken: Captain of the underworld boat. He sleeps until awakened to take passengers across the "river"

Aker: Guardian of the corpse of Apep and the passage of the sun. Aker carries the sun god's boat on his back through the underworld at night.

Apep: Enemy of Ra. Every night he battled to swallow the boat of the sun god, but was always defeated eventually and the sun was free to rise again. Isis defeated him for good by cutting him into pieces and giving the pieces to Aker to guard.

**Chapter 9: Death of a Pharaoh**

Over the great dry dessert of Egypt, Ra rose into the sky, a new day was born. The god Shu brought a light breeze as he danced steadily in the sands. Nut and Geb welcomed the warmth with open arms.

A single god watched the sun rise from banks of the Nile River, his stoic face showed no emotion as he thought about the exotic woman with pink hair and eyes like green emerald stone. The god moved deeper into the water, he manipulated the sands to take the form of the woman of immense beauty, a beauty he could not have. The god angrily crushed the figure with his hand, and the sands fell onto the banks of the river. He submerged himself under the water and watched the crocodiles fight for fish below the surface; the god swam into a battle between two enormous crocodiles.

The god grabbed both of the reptiles and broke their legs, the god's eyes widened in excitement, and a cruel smile graced his hansom lips at the sight of the blood pouring from the animals' bodies. The god "danced" with the crocodiles until they could no longer put up a fight against him, he then made his final blow. Sharply he pulled back his arm and the sands from the river bottom gathered around his hand, and trusted it into the reptile closest to him, the crocodile released all of the air it possessed and fell to the bottom of the river. The god did the same to the other crocodile. He then ascended to surface of the river, unfazed by the blood that tainted the water and his body, savoring his kill.

Moving up river, the god washed the blood from his body, his arms, his legs, his face, but not his hair. He glided to the banks of the river with a dangerous elegance, the linen cloth wrapped around his waist stained red. He was the definition of fear; he was the monster that all mothers warned their children from. The god drew in a deep breath, the winter months were coming soon, another year passed by without his friend who had joined the zodiac. The sands soared into the sky and took the god with them, just when he felt like he was going to fall, he stopped in midair and spread his arms harshly. Suddenly all of the sand flew across the desert, a sand storm had be made from the god's furry, and "Why must you take everything away from me?" He shouted to the sky, "Do you take pleasure in my grief?"

The god fell gently to the ground he raked his hands through the sands that protected him and given him power all of these years. The only gift he received from his father was his life, Seth wanted nothing to do with his son, and he preferred his eldest son Anubis.

The god walked along the Nile River within hours he reached Heliopolis, the city where he last saw the mystic beauty… "Sakura." He whispered. Just the memory of her smile cooled his fuming heart. The way she tasted when he kissed her beautiful lips was intoxicating and addictive. He wanted her again.

The god entered the usually busy city, he was alarmed that he found no people on the streets to socialize and talk with each other, there was no market were people bartered for their goods, no street players to entertain the people, no one was on the streets, only small incense in pottery cups burned outside the doors of many residences. The fragrance reached the god's nose he stopped in his tracks, frankincense, the people were in mourning. Who died?

Within an instant the god's body dissipated into many grains of sand, he flew to the palace. In his path he saw the same scene of mourning, the smell of frankincense still strong in the air. His sand drifted into the palace and he materialized in the throne room.

There he saw the pharaoh's body siting in his throne, priests gathered around with burning straw secreting smoke, servant girls lathered the king's body with oils and other sweet smelling materials. Women and men sang and danced in front of the king, musicians played their instruments, all of them knowing that they will go along with the pharaoh when he descends into the underworld. The god narrowed his eyes, around the pharaoh's neck, underneath the golden jewelry that adorned the king's collar, was a white linen cloth.

"Murdered." Gaara's eye glanced to the goddess to his right; wings slowly receded into her back, a white feather weaved into her hair. Her light brown eyes held compassion and a wish for balance in the world. Her wings and robes matched the rare clouds in the sky, skin lighter than the average Egyptian woman, hair as black as night. She was desired by most gods and mortals, she was a stunning majestic creature, but Gaara had his eyes on another.

Gaara greeted the goddess with a nod, "Ma'at, it has been a while." The god faced the procession again, he watched the priests start to recite phrases from the book of the dead for safe sleeping until the body is mummified. "Who assassinated him?"

Ma'at grabbed the feather that hung in her hair and stroked it a couple of times with her soft fingers, she then lightly kissed it; "A man sent by his king in Libya, justice will be served to him before he returns home." She smiled lightly, "I've made sure of it."

Gaara chuckled, "Who would've thought that the goddess of justice would have a small thirst for blood?"

Ma'at scowled at Gaara, "Things must be done in order for justice to be obtained, and his punishment was equal to the crime he enacted unto the Pharaoh." Gaara gestured her to continue. The goddess rolled her eyes and slit her finger across her throat, "Happy?"

"Very," he said.

They observed the servants and the priests continue their ceremony, the grand doors to the throne room were opened by two sturdy slaves and the queen entered the room. She wore a gold and white headdress upon her head, she carried flowers picked from the gardens of the palace in her hands. With equally spaced steps she slowly walked across the room, her head bowed and face in tears. No sons or daughters followed in her steed.

Ma'at whispered to Gaara, "You do know what this means right?" the god ignored the goddess as he watched the woman slowly stride through the room in thought. Ma'at pulled Gaara's arm, trying to get his attention.

Pulled from his musings, Gaara glared at the goddess, she was unaffected by his gaze. She calmly released his arm, and looked directly into his eyes, "We have to return to the underworld when the sun sets, Ra has called all of the gods to return."

Gaara pulled away from her, "Why? I do not want to go where I am unwanted."

Ma'at softly murmured, "You saw that the pharaoh had no offspring, we need to find someone who is suited to rule Egypt."

The small grains of sand in the room lifted off of the floor slightly, "What's the point; Horus always becomes the pharaoh in the end. I don't need to be there."

"Gaara, son of Seth, Ra has ordered all gods to descend into the underworld at sunset, you are to go to the Nile and get onto the boat to take you across the river. Do I make myself clear?" Ma'at crossed in front of the angered god, "Sunset."

And with that, the goddess's wings emerged from her back and she took flight, a lone white feather drifted to Gaara's feet, he watched the goddess fly across the throne room and land directly behind the pharaoh, she kissed the top of his head and blessed his slumber until they meet in the underworld for his judgment. She then flew out of one of the throne room's windows and into the open sky.

Gaara bent over and picked up the feather that fell from one of Ma'at's wings and surveyed its color and texture, the god spied a dark streak on the rough feather, and he rubbed his fingers across the dark surface and found that it would not fade away. He smirked to himself, "Even amongst all of the light there is a darkness that looms in all of our hearts." Gaara laughed, "There is always some darkness in all of us, even you Ma'at."

Gaara grasped the feather within his hands and started to make his way out of the throne room, he glanced at the queen still crying for her husband, by this time she had reached her king, she had placed both of her hands on his cheeks and put her forehead on the pharaoh's, she then removed herself from the dead king's body and kissed both of his cheeks and whispered a goodbye. She had walked out of the throne room, with evenly placed steps, Gaara followed.

The queen was greeted by two servants outside of the door; she put on all of her golden jewelry, painted her lips red and outlined her eyes with black kohl. Her lady in waiting approached her with a headdress adorned with various beads and priceless stones. She began her walk again.

Gaara shadowed the four women to the gardens where a pool of water extended from the Nile, a priest waited by the corner of the pool with a golden cup in his hand. The queen took the cup and drank as the priest chanted prayers; she then made her way to the water, stepping on each stair step in despair. Her body descended into the pool inch by inch. It was when she was neck deep in water when she turned around and begged for her life, she said that she didn't want to die, but her plead met deaf ears. She then turned around again; no one would save her from her fate. She plunged her head underneath the water, a few minutes later her body floated to the surface face down.

The priest approached the dead queen and lifted her out of the water, her servants and lady in waiting tracked behind. Gaara knew where the queen was going to be taken; she was to be placed by the king so she would accompany him in his journey to the underworld.

Gaara dissipated into sand, the last thing he saw was the look of pure horror on the queen's face. The god wondered what it was like to die, of course you would feel pain, but what was it like to be a mortal and fear for your life?

The god appeared by the Nile river, and he watched the sun start to fall from the sky, should he go? Gaara felt no need to go to this meeting of some sort, every time the gods meet there is always some drama or political problem, and every single time he is there they blame everything on him. Granted he does kill a couple plants, animals, and mortals with his sandstorms fueled by his furry, but big deal. The plants would return within a month and the animals will mate, and the mortals breed like rats, problem solved.

Gaara looked lazily at the river glaring every so often at the bird that crossed his sight, his thoughts once again drifted to Sakura Uchiha. He wondered what dreams she had that the marriage held her back from them. If she was his woman he would allow her to so whatever she pleased…his woman. If only she wasn't across the Mediterranean in Greece, he would kill her husband and take her all for himself. The god remembered the blissful night he had with the woman, they both moved as one, her soft skin on his, their warm gasps invading the cool desert air. He pictured her in the most lavish white linen with gold braded into her silken hair, he'd want her to look as natural as possible, she wouldn't look like all of the bland women in Egypt, and she would be his exotic beauty.

The sun began to fall upon the pyramids in distance and the winds were tranquil, the god had made his decision to journey to the underworld, he waited for the boat that would ferry him to the underworld. Gaara watched the boat crawl up the river its rowers were past convicts whose bodies have decayed over the years of service. Gaara's sands lifted him into the boat and he landed lightly on the deck.

A god who sat at the rear of the boat called to him, the god's voice was hoarse and sounded like a dying animal's screech, "Welcome aboard, Gaara. It has been about two hundred years since I have last seen you."

Gaara turned around and saw the god who ferried the boat from the upper-world and the underworld. He wore a dark colored loin cloth and black cloth draped over his shoulders and arms. His legs were thin and lacked mortal muscle, and his hair was long and unruly. "Indeed it has been a while, Aken."

The god pulled himself from the seat he resided in, his joins and bones cracking with each movement, a skeleton moved toward the captain and gave him a long, warn, white bone cane. The god grabbed it from the dead man, "Thank you, Kolein." The skeleton saluted the captain and returned to his duties on the ship. Aken then used the cane to hobble over to the red head, a lopsided smile smashed onto his face. He reached Gaara and stretched out his arms to embrace the god; not wanting to be rude Gaara weakly opened his arms and allowed the old god to hug him.

The old god released his hold on Gaara and smiled again, "I remember when you were just a little boy on this ship running from side to side to look at hippopotamuses and crocodiles with your mother and that friend of yours, what was his name? S-

Gaara interrupted the god coldly, "I do not wish to talk about that."

Aken's smile faded and nodded in understanding, this boy did not want to talk to him today. He started to hobble away from the red head, but stopped.

"I'm sorry Aken, I just can't talk about it right now; it still hurts to know that he left me here alone." Gaara wandered to the boat's railing and saw more gods and goddesses enter the ship, he saw a familiar set of white wings fly above the boat. "Are you attending this meeting Aken?"

The god laughed lightly causing his eyeball to fall from its socket in his head, "Of course I'm going to be there! Every god and goddess is going to be there, well with the exception of my brother Aker, you know guarding Apep and all." Gaara nodded and made a move to leave, "Gaara," the red head stopped, "come back soon, two hundred years is a long time to an old geezer like me."

"Okay," Gaara then left the captain to his own devices, Aken was one of the most friendliest gods you would ever meet, it's pretty ironic seeing how he deals with dead convicts all of the time. Gaara thought of him as his father or close relative since his real father disliked him, Gaara also hasn't seen his mother in over a thousand years.

"It's nice to see that you have chosen to come to the meeting Gaara, I thought that you would've refused to even set foot on this boat." Ma'at landed right next to Gaara, her hung wings receded into her robes, "Guess I was wrong."

Gaara gave a huff, "Has anyone within a thousand years tell you, you have a split personality."

The goddess gave him a bright smile and shook her head, "Nope, you're the first in two thousand years. Ra told me five thousand years ago and never mentioned it again." She fiddled with the feather that hung in her hair and her voice turned dark, "So I've heard that you made a woman cheat on her husband…"

Gaara nearly fell over the railing of the boat and into the water, what stopped him from plunging into the warm water was the goddess's hold on his arm. He gasped for breath, how did she know?

"I don't stroke mess with the feather in my hair without a reason, it tells me what a person has done." Ma'at saw the horror in Gaara's eyes, "Don't worry, what you did was the right thing to do, or are you worried about the sand storm you made this morning? Just to let you know, you killed fifteen mortals with your little spat."

"Ma'at will you please stop talking. I swear will tear your short brown hair from your scalp if you don't close your trap."

Gaara's rant was silenced by Ma'at laughter, "Oh, I don't think you would. You're too scared."

The red head looked at the goddess like she was crazy, "Do you want to try me?"

She returned his look with a mock serious face, and pouted her lips, "Why so serious Lord Gaara?"

"That's it! You better run!" yelled Gaara, the goddess laughed and ran about the deck, both gods giggled as they chased each other, and they passed the many other gods on the boat nearly knocking them overboard.

Ma'at tripped over a beam strewn on the deck and fell onto the deck; and Gaara soon followed. The both proceeded to laugh together and enjoy their fun, "It has been thousands of years since we have had that much fun, don't you remember?"

Gaara stilled and he slowly stood up and brushed down his clothing, "Yes it has, but those years are far behind us."

Ma'at stared at the red head in confusion, "What do you mean? We're immortal we have all the time in the-

Gaara silenced her, "We are not kids anymore, you both have responsibility. Yours is keeping the peace and justice, mine is to destroy what people treasure and prize because of my selfishness. Ma'at we are two completely different gods."

Ma'at pleaded, "But Gaara-

"No Ma'at just leave me alone!" The sands on the river banks thrashed to and fro, attacking everything and anything within striking distance.

The goddess bowed her head in sorrow her shoulders shook as she began to cry, "I'm sorry." She drew in a deep breath her voice cracked in pain, "I should have…never…" The goddess ran from God, her tears dropped onto the deck, her wings sprouted from her back and she tried to take flight. Ma'at fell to her knees and wrapped her wings around her body.

Gaara moved to the railing and grasped it with all of his might, he nearly crushed the beams with his strength, "Damn it."

The god was about to call for his sands to take him away from this place but it was too late, the sun's rays had now fallen beneath the horizon.

Captain Aken, gave the command for the ship to go down into the underworld, "Take her down Mr. Kolien."

The skeleton's bones rattled and somehow was able to produce sound from his throat to relay the command to the rest of the crew, the skeletons' voice called, "D-o-o-o-own!" and in reply all of the dead crew called back, "D-o-o-o-own!" The rowing of the boat increased and gained speed, the skeletons bone rattled and shook, the boat began to sink quickly under the river. It passed layers upon layer upon layers of rock and stone. The boat creaked and moaned under the pressure.

Gaara could swear that the captain and the skeletons were laughing in excitement, he coulds tell that they were almost "Across" the river when the boat started to slow its pace.

Aken called to his crew as the boat slowed, "Keep it steady men! Row, row, row, put your back into it Mr. Mizuki! Row!" Aken hobbled to the head of the ship and took out his kohl set and applied his eye makeup, the god brushed off his linen as best as he could.

Gaara watched the golden underworld come into view, it was paradise for some mortals but most of the time it was hell. You still had to work in the underworld, be it farm work, servant work, anything that you had a use for. Basically when you die, you serve the gods that reside in the underworld, even if you were the queen or wife of a pharaoh, you still worked.

Fields of wheat and other grains floated by, along with herds of animals, it was here that the Nile was full all year long, that the weather was at its most pleasurable condition.

The boat pulled up to the docks nearest to the city entrance, the skeletons reached for the ramp that the gods would walk down and secured it into place.

Aken was giving his last orders to the skeletal men, "Now, men, I would like to have the ship absolutely clean when I return please. Mr. Kolien is in charge. Good bye gentlemen, see you in the morning!" The captain took his cane and hobbled happily down the ramp and into the city, his lop sided smile plastered on his face.

Gaara watched Ma'at slowly make her way down the ramp, her wings dragged on the surface as she shoulders still shook, he looked away guilty.

The red headed god sauntered to the ramp and gazed at the city, he hasn't been her for over two hundred years. He wondered if his favorite bakery was still open and if it still served his favorite bread. The god kept his eyes to his feet and inched down the ramp, souls watched the god arrive in the city, some didn't even remember him, nor did they care.

"Gaara! It has been SUCH a long time!"

**I hope you enjoyed reading this** **chapter, and again, I am sorry for the delay. I broke my promise, BAD ME! Oh well let's get on to the reviews!**

**I would like to thank these people for reviewing!**

**ShadowFoxAngel, thingofmyth, NorthernLights25, hyuugahinata247, baka, DragonMistressLove, XBloodMageRikaX, Sam, happy everyday life, kat massacre, actwolf94, Doesn't Matter, The Lord's Fallen Angel, Saguagi666, tmmdeathwishraven, xsugabearx, Cindy Medeiros, and AnimaAmore!**

**Keep reviewing guys!**

**A message for xsugabearx:**

Yes, Hera is a bitter bitch. Your question about Sasuke seeing into Sakura's soul, he hasn't turned his Sharingan, or gift, in front of her yet, so he wouldn't know. Hera wants her to be with Sasuke because they are married and they still need to consummate their "Bond" Hera is taking as an insult to the thing she protects, marriage. We will meet Hades in due time.

**A message for thingofmyth:**

Hehe…thanks for the review! I'll TRY to work on my sentence length, too many commas can kill a peron? D,i,d,n,t,k,n,o,w,t,h,a,t. HAHA! Yes that guy had to die at some point in his life, guess it had to be by Artemis's hand!

**A message to all and to all a good night:**

Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer two reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, **THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING**! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me how I am doing!**

**REVIEW!**


	11. Arc I Chapter 10: Meeting of the Gods

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I hope that all of you like it. I'm sorry I have missed a couple of updates, so I am going to try to make up for it in this chapter, and I also want to let you all know; I have no update system yet, so bear with me.**

**Oh yeah! I would like to thank my reviewers, whose names I will mention at the end of the chapter, for of course, REVIEWING! You guys don't know how much it means to me to receive a review!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Sam.**

Horus: Keeper of light and of the sky, keeper of wisdom. Power: strength, victory in battle and wisdom.

Sobek: God of the Nile River

Osiris: God of the dead, and ruler of the underworld.

Ra: God of the Sun. Most important god of the ancient Egyptians

Ma'at: Goddess of truth, justice, and harmony. She was associated with the balance of things on earth.

Thoth: God of writing and knowledge. Third most important god of the ancient Egyptians, can take the form of and ibis or a baboon, for this story he will be an ibis the majority of the time.

Seth: God of chaos and destruction, Gaara's father.

**Chapter 10: Meeting of the Gods**

"Gaara! It has been SUCH a long time!"

The red head's gaze met the yellow eyes of a falcon headed god, the god's feathers slowly receded into his head as all of the bird-like qualities left the god's face. The yellow eyed god smiled mischievously at Gaara, flashing his pure white teeth as he did so, his blue hair flowed handsomely down his back and every so often you could see the occasional feather weaved into the god's heavenly locks.

This god was the very god Gaara despised for the majority of his life, Horus, the god of the sky and light, was the most arrogant, egocentric god Gaara had ever met.

"What? I don't get a greeting in return from an old friend?" Horus crackled. "Is it really beneath you to greet me?"

"You and I are not friends, we never were." Gaara's gazed hardened into a glare; he was beginning to lose patience. "Please leave."

"Gaara, Gaara, Gaara," The sky god tisked, he began to circle the red head, "Is that anyway to talk to the god who defeated your father? Who saved all of Egypt from his tranny?" Horus stopped behind Gaara and leaned to whisper something into Gaara's ear, "I shouldn't have expected any better from the son of a failure."

Gaara turned around sharply, his muscles tense and aura flaring, "What my father has done in the past does not matter to me. I will tell you again, please leave."

The sky god confidently took a step back from the other god and smirked, "YOU? Tell ME what to do?" The god laughed, "You are forgetting your place, and where you are. We are in the realm of underworld, ruled by my father King Osiris, and soon I will be king of the upper world again, as I have always been at the end of each line of pharaohs. You are nothing compared to me, you are just like your father, a chaotic mess of evil emotions and hate."

"Horus, I would advise you to stop before I lose my patience." Gaara said.

"So he admits it? What a sad pathetic creature you are. If I wasn't as smart as I am I would think that you were some sort of uncontrollable animal."

Gaara relaxed himself, and glared at Horus.

"That's better." Horus swiftly turned around and walked away, he called over his shoulder, "Oh, and Gaara, don't be late for the meeting, I would hate for you to miss it. It is after all my coronation to the upper world."

Gaara passively watched the sky god leave, who ever said that this god was the keeper of light was wrong. The red head stared at the golden city before him, then to the golden palace on top of a hill in the distance, the home of all gods. Tall sycamore trees lined the residence of the gods papyrus plants swayed along the side of the holy pools of Sobek. Gaara sighed and began his walk to the palace.

His eyes roamed to the various places in the inner city, it was larger than any city in Egypt combined. The difference between this city and the ones in Egypt was that the underworld was the definition of prosperity, every living mortal who lived a life without major crimes in the upper world, would be rewarded in the underworld. Gaara stopped in the street to watch two children, a boy and a girl, play in the street, his face calm. To die at a young age is tragic, but to live as a child for eternity must be catastrophically horrifying. He watched as one of the children fell to the ground and start to cry, the god's heart reached out to the boy's, unconsciously the god moved to the child and cradled him in his arms, it was then that the god felt a pull…

_Gaara watched as the two children were carelessly playing by the banks of the Nile River, it was midday the sun slowly sinking down to meet the horizon. Many birds and storks bathed in the water and sunlight, bees flew around the flowers collecting their sweet pollen._

_The children laughed joyfully, their mother watching from the distance while washing various articles of clothing. _

"_Can't catch me!" the little boy called to his sister as he started to run down the river banks._

"_No fair, you got a head start!" the little girl broke into a sprint as she tried to reach her older brother._

_The little boy tripped over his feet and fell to the ground, soon his little sister tackled him and they rolled together in the sand. The children stopped their fun when the sky suddenly turned dark. _

_Gaara watched in horror as a sand storm interrupted the children's play, the sand attacked the children, effectively blasting away the topical layer of their skin. The god heard the children scream in agony and also the desperate cries of their mother who was also caught in the fray._

_As the storm passed, and the sand fell back to the earth, Gaara found the children's bodies half buried in sand, their eyes closed, their mouths open. Gaara saw their mother crawl desperately in the sand to her children, heavily coughing. She dragged her body to her son and daughter, she tried to wake them, but they would not stir. The woman embraced her son's head and started to cry, her breathing becoming shallow. She laid her son to the ground and took her daughter in her arms. _

_The woman's breathing was almost inaudible, her heart beat slowed, she fell to the sands… _

"_**Just to let you know, you killed fifteen mortals with your little spat."**_

…Suddenly Gaara was pushed out of the mind of the child and was brought back to reality. The child's eyes watched Gaara's in wonder, the boy then smiled, "Thank you mister." The boy dried his face of his tears and climbed out of the god's arms and ran off with his sister. Gaara sat on the ground, frozen.

"_**You killed fifteen mortals with your little spat."**_

Gaara fell to the ground, his body shaking. This had to be some sick joke, right? Gaara glared at his hands angrily, this wasn't happening. "I couldn't have done that…I couldn't…" he whispered softly. "No…it's not possible. This can't be real…"

"_**You killed"**_

"It doesn't matter, they are mortals."

"_**Monster"**_

"I shouldn't care."

"_**Demon"**_

"_**Monstrosity"**_

"Stop…I don't want to hear it anymore."

"_**Murderer"**_

"Stop it, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…for what I've done." The god's shoulders trembled; Gaara watched the children's figures fade into the empty street. "Please forgive me…"

"You were forgiven the very moment you held him." A soft, delicate voice comforted him softly. A hand touched his shoulder attempting to comfort the god in distress; a white feather fell in front of the god's eyes.

Gaara sat up and stared sadly into the beautiful eyes of one of his old friends, "Ma'at, why are you here? After what I have done… you still…"

"Gaara, you have to learn somethings can be forgiven, I understand that you don't want my company right now, in the past we were friends, and I hope we can still be friends." Ma'at stood up, her short hair blowing carelessly in the wind; she held her hand out to Gaara. "We need to get to the Palace, midnight is approaching." The goddess's wings unfolded from her back, white and pure. "Need a lift?"

Gaara smirked, and summoned a disk of sand with his hands, "Thanks for the offer, but I think I've got it covered." Gaara stepped onto the disk of sand, "But if you want to take a break from flying, you are welcome to ride with me."

"I think the years of us ridding together on your amazing disk of sand are over…we're not kids anymore." Ma'at laughed jokily. "Pay back's a bitch right?" Ma'at took off into the air and hovered directly over Gaara.

"You know Ma'at, you're right; payback is a bitch," Gaara glanced to the palace in the distance, "bet you I can get there first."

Ma'at smiled, "You're on."

The two gods took off into the air and their little race began, Gaara's sand could travel faster than Ma'at's strong wings, they both knew that. Ma'at beat her wings harder and glided to the place directly behind Gaara, "Gaara!" She called. The God looked over his shoulder and watched Ma'at do a flip in the air, she smiled brightly at him. "Ma'at!" He called. The goddess watched Gaara as his disk of sand evolved into a complicated serpentine, Gaara "surfed" down his sand, doing various flips and tricks in the air, all while getting closer to the palace. Ma'at folded her wings and joined Gaara on his sand, she ran down the many curves, twists and turns. The two old friends giggled as they played both trying to out shine the other with their tricks.

They were approaching the palace at a rapid pace, Ma'at getting closer and closer to Gaara, it was when she was right on his heels that she slipped and slid right onto the golden palace floors. "Ow…"

Gaara descended into the palace on a disk of sand, "Well Ma'at, for the first time in our existence, you won."

"But I cheated." Ma'at said.

Gaara chuckled, "You didn't cheat at all, you just used the resources that were around you, abet it was my sand, you won fair and square. Besides, what kind of goddess of justice would you be if you cheated?"

"I guess you are right Gaara…" Ma'at smiled up at him, Gaara reached his hand down and she took it gratefully and pulled herself off the ground. Ma'at attention swiftly turned to another god who entered.

The god grinned at Ma'at, "Where have you been? The meeting is about to start." The god's smile turned sour when he saw Gaara, "Gaara, I know you and Ma'at are old friends, but I would appreciate it if you took your hands off my wife." The god's short, choppy, white and black hair shined in the torch light.

"Thoth, it's nothing like that." Said Ma'at.

Thoth's dark eyes shined as he met his wife's eyes, "I believe you Ma'at. Come on, we don't want to miss this."

Thoth offered his arm to his wife and she took it, "Walk with us to the meeting Gaara!"

The god hesitated to take her offer, honestly Gaara did not want to go to this meeting for various reasons, and the first reason is that this would be an unplanned family reunion with his father, mother, brother and sister. The second reason, he did not wish to see the gloating, spoiled, egocentric god named Horus. The third reason, he did not wish to see Ra, the last time Gaara saw the sun god was when he received a decade long lecture about "Not destroying the sacred temples of other Gods, especially those of Horus." Those ten years were the longest ten years of his existence.

Thoth watched Gaara contemplate his thoughts, Thoth did not hate Gaara, he just preferred everything to be organized and well thought-out, this minor god of chaos and sand would be a disaster to his work if he ever got close to the redhead. "You are welcome to come with us, Gaara, I wouldn't mind at all."

Gaara saw the god of wisdom gesture him to come with the couple, Gaara walked steadily to them, "I would have never thought that a fun loving goddess, would marry an uptight god like you Thoth, but I can see that you two are a very fine match, and I can tell you enjoy each other's company. Thoth, all I ask for you to do is to care for my friend dearly, and cherish every moment you have with her."

The three deities began to stroll down the hallway to the circle table of the gods, Thoth bowed his head to Gaara, "I with care for her as I have for the past one hundred years, and for many millennium to come. I respect you for your concern."

"I'm right here you know…" Ma'at huffed.

Thoth glanced at his wife, he smiled fondly at her, "I know Ma'at, but I have to make this promise with your friend to put his mind at ease."

Gaara viewed the couple, in a way he was jealous. Most of the gods and goddesses he grew up with are now getting married, Gaara wanted a companion to spend the rest of his eternity with, in the past he found no goddess who wished to be with him. Gaara's memory flashed to the pink hair beauty, Sakura. If the god had a choice he would spend the rest of his immortality with the young woman, but alas she was mortal, she would die away like a flower while he would still be young and handsome for an eternity.

Another figure approached the three gods, "Gaara, my brother, how long has it been since I have seen your cute face?"

Gaara's eye brows rose in rage, "Anubis, you filthy, mangy, mutt! Don't you. EVER. Call. Me. Cute. Again, or I will tear your spine from your ass and play jump rope with it!"

The brown haired god stood there mortified, his left hand noticeably moving to the back lower part of his pelvis, biting his cheek, with his eyes widened in fear. "Well little brother, I wouldn't like to lose my precious back bone anytime soon, but why don't you call me Kankuro anymore?"

A blond headed goddess emerged from the shadows of the god of the dead, "Because 'Kankuro' is an old pet name I gave you when we were younger, Anubis is your given name. Gaara, please don't insult Anubis, it's rude and uncalled for…but I would like to see you tear his spine form his ass…"

Anubis Glaned at his sister from the corner of his eyes, "Temari, you are as bad as father when it comes to that kind of stuff."

"Well you're as bad as mother when it comes to death, you relish in that kind for stuff, so I believe we're quite even." Temari's blue-ish grey eyes wandered to Gaara's, "It has been a long time, have you ever thought about how we felt when you cut yourself off from us?"

"Look Temari, I needed time to myself, besides I think my absence shouldn't have affected anyone of you, you are mother and father's favorites after all." Gaara stated.

Thoth and Ma'at stood by silently, the air in the hallway was beginning to get colder and thicker, Thoth spoke up, "Gaara, I hope you don't mind if Ma'at and I leave…"

Gaara didn't even face the couple, "I don't mind one bit…"

With that the pair left the hallway and entered the open room, they both sat next to each other at a circular table in the middle of the room, they talked quietly amongst themselves.

Gaara stared at his siblings in silence, none of them could speak.

Temari made her way to Gaara and put her hands on his shoulders, "Mother loves you just as much as she loves Anubis and me." The goddesses face then met the sky, "We'll talk about this later, it's a minute to midnight in the upper world, and we should get seated."

The siblings sat down in their respectable seats next to their family members, Gaara sat at the end of the line of his family, then came Anubis, Temari, Nephthys (His mother), and Seth (His father).

All of the gods and goddesses in the room sat down and waited for the arrival of the great god Ra. Gaara saw Horus sitting with his mother, Isis, and father, Osiris, across the circular table, the god of the sky and the god of the underworld looked smug, Isis on the other hand, sat inactively by her husband. Aken sat anxiously for the arrival of Ra, his unruly hair tied back into a messy ponytail, that stupid grin plastered on his face.

A ball of light descended from the sky above all of the gods and goddesses of Egypt, bright light flooded the open room, many of the gods shielded their eyes from the light, especially Anubis, Seth, and Aken, for the majority of their time is spent in the darkness of the upper and underworld.

The bright light began to fade as Ra, the ruler of all gods emerged from the light, his crown of the sun disk held proudly on his head. Ra sat on top of the circle table, directly in the middle. The mighty god's fiery eyes hovered over every god and goddess. "My fellow Gods and Goddesses, I am afraid that another line of Pharaoh has come to an end, as we all know, the last Pharaoh had no sons to carry the royal crown of Egypt. It my duty to appoint a god to become mortal in order to rule Egypt as Pharaoh, and you my dear friends are here to see his coronation to the upper world as a mortal Human. We know that the job of this god is to rule Egypt, but most importantly, this god must bear an heir to the throne when you pass on into the underworld again. Of course when you pass on from the upper world you will return to your original immortal form."

The mighty god stood on the table, his robes dragging on the table, "I need a strong, independent, and honorable god to pursue this task at hand…"

Horus's eye lit up, his back straightened, and shoulders back, he waited for the words that would appoint him to the upper world.

"…this is why I have chosen Gaara to be Pharaoh of the upper world." Ra finished.

The entire room was held in silence, Horus's eyes dulled, and his back and shoulders fell, his gaze then fired in rage, immediately the god stood from his chair at the circular table, "Why does this freak get appointed for a position that I am capable of filling? I have been appointed Pharaoh in the past, why not now?"

Gaara sat in shock, Him? Pharaoh of the upper world? This has to be some sort of mistake. How can he rule an entire country? Slowly the god realized, if he became mortal, then he would experience what death would feel like, what pain would feel like, to know that life its self was precious and delicate, but he would no longer have his godly charm. He would be like any other human. If he was mortal he could go to any country he pleased, he could go to Greece without having to abide by the laws of the gods set by Ra and Zeus. There was a possibility that he could see that pink haired beauty again.

Ra looked at Horus sharply, "You ask me why you can't be Pharaoh? Horus have you ever realized that I, Ra, can hear and see everything. In the past you were appointed pharaoh because you were courteous, noble and kind, but for the past few years I have seen your attitude turn sour, and I am very disappointed. Considering how you think you are above everyone else, and my word and law, I believe that you are unable to be Pharaoh."

"He is the Son of Chaos, the very person who put Egypt into shambles in the past, who's to say that this monster won't follow in the footsteps of his father?" Horus cried.

Many gods and goddesses nodded their heads in agreement with the sky god.

"And who's to say that the son of the god Osiris did exactly as the god Seth did in the past due to his emotions and irrational desions?"

Many gods and goddesses sat frozen.

Ra sat down again in the middle of the table, "I motion that Gaara, son of Seth, is appointed to Pharaoh of the upper world. Does anyone second my appointment.

There was a brief silence among the gods.

Temari stood from her chair and raised her hand, "I second Ra's appointment of my little brother, Gaara, to Pharaoh of the upper world.

Then Isis stood, "I second Ra's appointment of my Nephew, Gaara, to Pharaoh."

Thoth and Ma'at stood. "We second Ra's appointment of Gaara to Pharaoh."

Soon a majority of the gods and goddesses in the room seconded the motion minus Osiris and Horus.

"Majority rules," Spoke Ra, "Gaara, son of Seth, shall become the morning and evening star as the Pharaoh of Egypt."

**Tell me what you thought about this chapter. What do you think Gaara's appointment to Pharaoh means? Do you think Gaara is ready to be Pharaoh? What do you think of Horus?**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this** **chapter, and again, I am sorry for the delay. I broke my promise, BAD ME! I have been busy these past few weeks, I have been meaning to update this story for a long time. I just wanted to let you know in advance that I will not me updating at all next month (July), I will be going to camp. I will most likely be updating the first or second of August. **

**Let's get on to the reviews!**

**I would like to thank these people for reviewing!**

Sam, XBloodMageRikaX, TDI-Ryro-Eclares, Dragon MistressLove, Poobear07, ShadowFoxAngel, hyuugahinata247, BattyBigSister, Katt massacre, NorthernLights25, LibertyForFreedom455, and The Lord's Fallen Angel.

**Keep reviewing guys!**

**Message for Sam:** Thank you for not giving up on me, I really appreciate it. Your second review gave me the motivation to make this chapter, and that is why this chapter is dedicated to you. I am happy that you do not want me to give up on this story, and I love you for being so passionate about this story, thank you.

**LibertyForFreedom455: **When I read your review I smiled, we'll here is another Gaara POV just for you. Gaara will not be the one to find Sakura. That is all I will tell you for now.

**A message to all and to all a good night:**

Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer two reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, **THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING**! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me how I am doing!**

**REVIEW!**


	12. Arc I Chapter 11: The Journey Begins

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I hope that all of you like it. I'm sorry I have missed a couple of updates, so I am going to try to make up for it in this chapter, and I also want to let you all know; I have no update system yet, so bear with me.**

**Oh yeah! I would like to thank my reviewers, whose names I will mention at the end of the chapter, for of course, REVIEWING! You guys don't know how much it means to me to receive a review!**

**Chapter 11: The Journey Begins**

Over the great, green, rocky mountains of Greece, Apollo began his rise into the sky above. Day was compelling the night to end. Four firer horses pulled his magnificent chariot, drawing the Sun into the blue heavens. The bright sphere broke through the grey and white clouds and casted various sunbeams across the land as it inched higher and higher. The sky became more radiant, the colors of the trees, the flowers and the bushes became more vivid. Morning has broken.

The Sun's rays touched the mountains and the rocks, warming them ever so slowly, the heat celled the serpents out of their dens. Birds sang their bright, chipper tunes or cooed softly to their mates. Grape vines continued their long trek up the mountain side; greedily taking in the sun's light to make its sweet fruit. The morning breeze blew through the tree's branches, kissing each and every leaf tenderly, each branch rustled, their melody filling the sky above, waking the blossom from her peaceful sleep.

The blossom's eyes fluttered open, her body resting on the floor of the cave entrance. She arched her back as she rose from the ground stretching her sore muscles, her arms reached for the sky as the young woman stifled a yawn. Sakura felt the water of the morning dews roll down her arms and on to her back, she had never felt so rested in her entire life.

The feast she had consumed the night before was out of this world, goat's milk, goat cheese, and lamb with various mild spices, everything that you could've found on a senator's banquet table. All of it, EVERYTHING, was luxurious. The sweet round grapes danced with her tongue, soft pears went past her lips bites at a time, and the sweet-smelling watermelon was delicious.

Sakura smiled fondly at the memory of eating real food after the chase and her _honeymoon_ from Egypt. She it's not that doesn't like Egyptian food; she just prefers the fine fruits and vegetables from her home country. It is the taste of home after all.

The young woman sighed and rose to her feet and she inspected her body closely. The run had taken a toll on her. Dark blue and black bruises decorated her soft, pale skin, and various scratch marks were still present. Worst of all there was a painful rash forming right above her hip. Sakura grimaced and shook her head, "What am I going to do, I'm in no condition to travel."

"As a woman, I believe you will do just fine." A stern voice called to her deep within the cave. "We females are stronger than men after all."

The pink-haired girl's wide eyes gazed into the blackness of the cave, she slowly moved to the outside of the cave. Timidly she called to the voice, "Who's there?"

The first thing Sakura saw was a light brown bow decorated with vines and leaves held in the figure's hand, the figure, a woman, stepped out of the shadows gracefully, her leather sandals treading softly on the smooth cave floor. A short white robe hung off of her body, flowing in the light wind, a leather belt was draped across her waist holding multiple arrows in a container. The woman's hair was pulled up into two small buns on top of her head the rest of her hair cascaded down her back in wavy curls.

The woman's warm chocolate brown eyes met Sakura's emerald, "I am friend sent by Artemis. My name is Tenten. It is an honor to meet you Sakura, I have heard much about you." She smiled at Sakura with her white teeth.

Sakura blushed immediately, "So you know about…you know…" She fidgeted with her robes nervously.

The brown eyed woman gave a nod, "Yes, I know everything Artemis knows. She was rather disappointed you know." Under her breath she said, "She had us hunting non-stop while you were gone."

Sakura stared at the woman confused, her eye brows raised, "What?"

The woman's eyes widened and she put her hands up in defense and laughed awkwardly, "Oh nothing you need to know! Nothing you need to know!"

Tenten looked Sakura up and down, "Now we need to do something about your health, you look horrid!" Tenten's gaze then turned toward Sakura's feet, she shook her head and tisked, and "You need new sandals, the ones you have are torn to pieces."

Sakura glanced to her feet, the woman was right, her sandals were rather tattered, and those trees did tear at her skin.

Tenten smiled and looked Sakura in the eyes, "I'll make a woman of you yet. Just you wait and see." Tenten grabbed Sakura's wrist and pulled her through the forest, descending down the mountainside.

Sakura pulled against the woman, "What do you mean "You'll make a woman out of me?" Where are you taking me?"

Tenten stopped, and faced the girl, her voice even in tone, "One you need a bath," one finer went up, "two you need to learn how to survive," another went up, "and three you need to be healed," the third went up "and four," Pause, Tenten stared at her hand and shook her head, "I will tell you number four later.

Tenten tried once again to drag Sakura down the mountain, the blossom followed, "You are on the run from prince Sasuke, by the looks of it and the way you're going now I wouldn't be surprised if you got caught by tomorrow because your health and your strength, you don't know how to survive. But with my help you can survive, free yourself…and the-well free yourself."

Sakura looked at the woman suspiciously, she then glanced at her poor wrist her lips pouting, and "Can you at least tell me where we are going?"

Tenten rolled her eyes, was this girl that dense? "Isn't it obvious yet? I'm taking you to the closest river. You stink." Tenten laughed as she held her nose.

"Hey! I've only been on the run for only one day, I can't smell that bad." Sakura shrieked, though she did agree with the woman, her current state did not compare to her baths in Egypt with those expensive bath oils. Myrrh, thyme, marjoram, chamomile, lavender, lily, peppermint, rosemary, cedar, rose, and aloe. All of those scents made her flush in delight, Sakura moaned as she remembered what that stranger, Gaara, smelt like like early spring and fresh picked flowers. Which flowers? Roses and Lavender, two beautiful smells, so intoxicating.

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted.

"Hey kid, get your head out of the clouds." When Tenten saw that the girl's attention was on her she continued, "Trust me kid, it's possible. You need the bath." Tenten glided them through the trees effortlessly, neither one of the girls got a single scratch on them.

Within minutes the sound of a bubbling river greeted their ears, the trees around them thinned, brush and the sweet smell of flowers welcomed the two women.

Sakura grinned, "Roses…" she whispered breathlessly.

The two women stopped in front of a small river, the banks filled with lushes plants, and bushes filled to the end of their branches with berries. The water clear as crystal, with smooth grey rocks resting at the bottom, lily pads and cattails cuddled near the water's edge. Sakura gazed in amazement, this place was beautiful, but it did not compare to the river in Egypt, Gaara. Sakura shook her head hard, stop thinking about him! His amazing eyes. Stop it! His voice, who am I kidding I can't stop thinking about Gaara.

Tenten once again interrupted Sakura's day dreams about the strange man in Egypt. "Now that we have reached this lovely river, strip."

Sakura fell onto the soft ground her hands and butt catching her fall, "I beg your pardon?" her voice quivered. Sakura looked directly into the eyes of the warrior, the woman sis not look amused.

"We came here so you could get freshened up, you need to get out of those clothes for yours and wash up." Tenten gestured for Sakura to hand over her robes.

Sakura grasped her robes tightly and scowled at the warrior, "No! What am I going to wear when I need to get out?"

Tenten rolled her eyes, "You don't think that I haven't thought about that? I'm going to get you clothes of course." Tenten pulled out a bottle from her leather belt, "This is a gift I received form Aphrodite for saving her love interest from an untimely death at the hunt. Don't waste it." Tenten raised her hand again, "Give me your robes."

Sakura glanced at the warrior, she bit her lip. She was obviously uncomfortable in front of the woman; she did not want to undress in such a compromising situation.

Tenten began tapping her foot, "Don't make me repeat myself."

Sakura was still frozen.

The warrior gave a huff, "Turn around if you need to.

Sakura was still frozen.

She brown eyed woman glared at the poor girl, "Do you want me to turn around and wait until you get into the water?"

At this Sakura nodded her head, she watched as the warrior turned and faced the trees. Sakura began to unwind the torn fabric around her body, she would admit, she would miss this robe, but then again she could live without it. This fabric held the most painful memories for Sakura, all within a matter of 24 hours. Konan and Hanabi, I'm so sorry for causing you pain. She slipped off what was left of her sandals and made her way toward the small river.

The fabric fell to the ground as Sakura took the bottle and stepped into the cool river. She skin shivered as she submerged herself into the river. It was cool and refreshing.

"Can I turn around now?" Tenten's voice called.

Sakura replies with a timid, "Yes."

Tenten glided to the edge of the river, and looked down at Sakura; she leaned over and picked up the robes. "I'm going to be gone for a while, the bottle should help your skin heal and get rid of those bruises. Stay here."

"Where are you going?" the pink haired girl asked.

"I need to get your new clothes." Tenten stood up and walked toward the forest, "Stay here and you should be safe."

And with that Tenten disappeared into the forest, the last thing Sakura saw was her arrows at her side sway back and forward.

XXX

Everything was dead, everything was black, white marble stained black, smoke still floated in the air. Everything was silent besides the marching of the prince's guards and army, the calling of directions and orders. The temple of Artemis was no more; it is now just a shadow of what it once was. Blue flags filled the air, each one held a red and white round fan, the Uchiha crest.

The prince once again entered the temple, he looked at the bones of the two priestesses that didn't get consumed in the fire, yet he then stared defiantly at the statue of Artemis, "See what happens when I don't get what I want? You lose a temple and two pathetic girls. Is this really all you had? You're a goddess you should have more, but you're weak Goddess, I defeated all you have, in a way that means I have defeated you."

The prince made his way closer to the statue and brushed his hand against the stone, whipping off the dark ash that adored it. "I will remember this day for the rest of my life. I am just one step closer to being king of southern Greece, and then I will take the north from the Senju Clan."

Sasuke took in all of the destruction around him, he relished in it. These nothing he loved more than destruction. Sasuke closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. His silence was interrupted by a soldier, "My Prince I bring new of your wife."

Sasuke looked at the guard, "Well, what news do you have." His sharp voice cut through the room like flesh. The soldier shuttered and stumbled with his words, Sasuke's Aura grew darker, "Speak you fool, what do you have to tell me?"

"S-s-sir, your w-w-wife was spotted just north of the temple, about f-f-five miles. We-we-we pursued her and caught her, but-but she got-got away, because of Al-Al-Altalo." The soldier finally ended.

Mockingly Sasuke replied, "So-so-so you're t-t-telling me that you **LET HER ESCAPE?"**

The soldier flinched at each stutter the prince made and shrank to the floor when he yelled, "Yes sir, she escaped."

"Are you senseless, do you lack common sense? You never let a prisoner-may it be-escape." Sasuke's anger flared he rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to prevent a migraine. "Leave, gather 50 troops, we will be departing soon."

Once the soldier left, Sasuke took in a deep breath, and roared "Kabuto!"

A silver haired man emerged from the door the soldier exited from, "Yes, Prince Sasuke?"

The prince took in a deep breath, "Get me some Willow bark."

"Another migraine, my prince?" Kabuto, reached into a bag that he kept slung over his shoulder, "You should be careful, those are considered a curse from the gods…"Kabuto laughed, "or it is just something that needs to be biologically explained."

Kabuto held a chunk of willow bark in his hand, Sasuke took it roughly form the doctor's hand. "Are you quoting Hippocrates again?" Kabuto just smiled and shook his head from left to right, "No sir, I am just stating the facts."

Sasuke gnawed at the bark and swallowed it piece by piece all while drinking water between bites. Kabuto reached into his bag again and pulled out a bottle, "This will help with the stomach ache you will feel."

Sasuke leaded onto the statue and waited for the relief to come, "Kabuto, where would I be without you?"

Kabuto pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, "Probably dead sir."

Sasuke smirked, "No, I think I would have another doctor, but he wouldn't be a great as you." Sasuke glared at Kabuto, "Again with the glasses? Those things don't actually work do they?"

"They are a product of my own invention. I was watching glass blowers the other day and saw how the glass made something look larger and smaller. It is just an experiment that caught my interest."

Another soldier entered the room, "Sir, the men are ready and are awaiting you and your orders."

Sasuke pushed himself off of the stature and looked the soldier directly in the eye, "We will leave now you are dismissed." The prince took the bottle in his hands and drowned in its contents. His face twisted into one of distain, "I hate medicine, why can't it all just taste like cherries?"

Kabuto laughed and exited the room, "I'm sure that will happen all in due time."

**I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I'm sorry for the one month delay. As I have told you I had to go to summer camp. I didn't tell you what kind so I am going to tell you now, I went to a theatre camp and music camp this past month and all of my energy has been drained. This is the last month of summer vacation, and I'm really kind of sad about going back to school. I hope to update this story again by the 15 or 16 of this month (August). I might update earlier.**

**On to the Reviews! Thank you so much!**

Whitemint, Sam, Dragon MistressLove, ShadowFoxAngel, romyblossom, AnimaAmore, LibertyForFreedom455, shan mayonaka, ulquihime7980, XBloodMageRikaX, hyuugahinata247, Analelle, Habit, BlueLovesGreen, XionNight, Bravery-Homunculus, heratlessyukiXD, xsugabearx, superfan8, and The Lord's Fallen Angel.

**Keep reviewing guys!**

**Message for LibertyForFreedom455:**When Gaara becomes Pharaoh he will be mortal, but when he dies he will return to being a god. Even though Gaara will soon be mortal, he will still be a god. In order for a ruler to understand what his people are going through he needs to know emotions and feelings, an immortal leader would not understand how mortal people would feel like.

**Message for Hyuugahinata247, BlueLovesGreen, and xsugabearx (all of the same comments): **Yes Horus is an ass and a daddy's boy. Like Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter, Horus hides behind his father's name and expects to get everything handed to him on a silver platter. In a way Horus is a jealous type, I can't wait for you to see what is going to happen in the future. MUhahahaha!

**A message to all and to all a good night:**

**So far this story has 13,774 views, 99 Alerts, 74 Favs, and 84 reviews! Thank you guys so much for your support of this story! It makes me want to carry on and keep typing.**

Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer two reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, **THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING**! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me how I am doing!**

**REVIEW!**

**I am considering on getting a beta, does anyone know a good one? Or volunteering?**


	13. Arc I Chapter 12: Hera

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I hope that all of you like it. I'm sorry I have missed a couple of updates, so I am going to try to make up for it in this chapter, and I also want to let you all know; I have no update system yet, so bear with me.**

**Oh yeah! I would like to thank my reviewers, whose names I will mention at the end of the chapter, for of course, REVIEWING! You guys don't know how much it means to me to receive a review!**

**Chapter 12: Hera's Aide-mémoire**

Standing in front of the brunt down temple various soldiers clad in dark leather and iron armor mounted on their horses and waited for the order to move out from their prince. Apollo's chariot by now was high in the sky, the sun's heat blaring down on each soldier's armor. Sweat began to form at their brows and fall down the napes of their necks. Every so often a cloud would drift over the sun shielding its harsh rays and offered a short relief to the restless horses and their riders. They welcomed each breeze greedily; thankful for the cool caress that kissed their battle hardened arms. It was the peak of summer, soon the fall rain showers would come and the sweet grapes and fruits will be harvested for the festivals. The god of wine, Dionysus, will reward them for their hard work with the rich taste of red alcohol.

A group of men chatting amongst themselves on horseback stopped their gossip when three figures approached them, and one of the figures had a body slung over one of their shoulders. As they got closer, they noticed the body trailing blood on the dirt road, scratches and stab marks were displayed on the suntanned skin of the soldier. What scared each soldier the most was the empty eyes, no colored iris no pupils, nothing. What was left of the face was frozen in pure terror.

A soldier spoke, "Azuma, Damon, what happened?"

Damon remained silent as he placed the body on the ground. He just stared at the arrow barged in the former soldier's skin. Azuma took this time to kneel toward the body on the ground, and he anchored one hand on the dead man and another on the arrow and pulled. The arrow glided from the flesh and glistened in a light of its own. Azuma took a deep breath and sighed, "According to this silver arrow, Altalo was slain by one of the gods. Nevertheless, he deserved it for attempting to dishonor a woman."

Azuma raised the hand that held the silver arrow high in the air, "The goddess Artemis took her revenge on Altalo, and she is displeased by what has become of her temple." Azuma saw uneasiness in every soldier's face, they held the reins of their horses tightly, all of their knuckles turned white. "We should fear and respect the gods and not destroy what is sacred to them, especially their temples."

"Did Artemis herself tell you that Azuma?" Every eye turned toward the prince dressed in his finest armor, atop his white stallion. Sasuke trotted the horse to the man and stopped, "Please enlighten us of her words and wisdom."

Azuma stood from the ground and saluted his leader, "No sir, the goddess herself did not tell me." He then gestured to the arrow, "This arrow and Altalo's death is all of the proof that the goddess Artemis is displeased."

Sasuke observed the arrow as it glowed, "Azuma, you have been my family's commander for 15 years I would hate to demote you for taking back to your superior." Sasuke held the reins with one of his hands and the other reached toward Azuma, "The arrow commander."

Azuma opened his mouth to speak again then he thought otherwise and silently gave the arrow to the prince. Sasuke grabbed the arrow, suddenly a burst of pain traveled up his arm; he hissed and dropped it as the silver arrow burned his hand. "Ach!"

The arrow fell to the ground with grace as it slowly morphed into a stag. It stared at Sasuke in distain, its body pulsed a strongly of light and it spoke to him, "A god can never be defeated by an arrogant mortal like you. You have not defeated me and you will never me, nor with you defeat Sakura, for she is under my protection. This is my only warning to you Prince Sasuke of the south. You are lucky that I can't harm you, because if I could you would be hanging from the tallest cliff in Greece dead." and with that the stag's light intensified and dissipated, flooding the entire army with light. Soldiers tried to control their horses as they reared in panic.

The light danced around Sasuke's white stallion making the poor animal panic, the horse tried to fight against the light that infiltrated his white skin. Sasuke balanced himself on the back of the horse, holding the reins tightly pulling back on the horse, trying to gain control of the horse again. Soon the silver light had settled at the upper chest of the stallion and burned the mark of the crescent moon upon its pure white fur.

Once when the horse calmed itself, Sasuke turned and faced his legion, determination dead set on his face. "This is all the goddess of the hunt sends us as a warning, a stag that disappears and a light show? The goddess is too afraid to come herself." Sasuke raised his injured hand to the Army, "If she wanted to do us harm she would've done more. This proves her cowardice." He called out to the rest of his legion, "We move out now, let's show this goddess what we mortals can do."

A cheer irrupted from all of the crowed except one, Azuma stood in silence and shook his head, he mounted his grey horse and followed the prince to the front of the Calvary, their march began. He was disappointed in the prince, the former king knew better than to anger the gods. King Fugaku knew not to mess with the mighty gods, he was wise enough to keep his animosity toward the gods to himself. After all Aphrodite did give him a beautiful queen who did bear the king two strong sons.

Horns sounded and flags rose into the air as each soldier marched their horses in sync to each and every tone of the drum. The prince looked at his hand closely, and his onyx eyes narrowed just slightly, there on his hand a crescent moon was burned onto his creamy colored palm. His skin was once impeccable, now this blemished his perfect body. A frown crossed the prince's face as he closed his hand tightly, he then winced in pain, this Azuma noticed.

Sasuke grabbed the reins with his injured hand, why would the goddess of the hunt mark him? Why mark his horse? The prince contemplated these two questions, "She must be keeping tabs on me…" the prince whispered.

"My prince?" Azuma said, the commander looked at the prince worry evident in his eyes. Knowing the gods, the prince might be cursed. "Is there something wrong?"

Sasuke glanced at his commander and shook his head, "No." Azuma nodded his head deeply and scanned the landscape and the road in front of them, there seemed to be nothing.

Out of nowhere, three peacocks glided effortlessly in the sky, two of them shined a blue sapphire color. Their wings lined with a chocolate brown moved like fingers in the wind and their green tail feathers with multiple purple eyes lying flat on the air, stabilizing their flight. The two blue peacocks flew circles around the peacock of pure white with a blue crown of feathers upon its head; this peacock flew with a grace like no other, rivaling the goddess of beauty.

Sasuke stared at the three peacocks intently, one in particular, the white one. "Azuma," Sasuke calmly said, "I must leave for a short period of time. I want you to split up the troops to scan the area, if my wife is spotted pursue her."

Azuma straightened his strong shoulders, squaring them into a salute, "Yes, my prince."

Sasuke rode his horse close to Asuma's darkly gazing directly into his commander's eyes with an immeasurable intensity, "Do not fail me this time, or you will face the consequences."

"I will not fail you my prince, as I have never failed your father and your family." answered the commander, "Do you demand the company of a few men?"

The prince replied with a quick "No" and the white stallion galloped away leaving the legion of 100 men in the dust. The prince's eyes were glued to the white peacock flying in the sky. The horse left the safety of the road to a trail entering the forest with twists and turns winding around the grape vines that decorated the trunks of the trees.

The prince's horse came upon a clearing and in front of a cave and there the goddess Hera stood with pride, her curly brown hair caressed and framed her light creamy face. The goddess's almond shaped eyes help a sense of royalty and strength, mixed with a shadow of vengeance. The goddess herself was beautiful, she was fair, but to Paris, she was not "The Fairest"

The goddess glided to the Prince, she was light on her feet, just like the two peacocks that looked after the goddess and roamed the clearing, pecking off the many bugs and ants roaming in the grass. The goddess smiled evenly at the prince as she observed him attentively, she reached her hand to the prince's face, her fingers ghosting under his chin. The prince tensed.

Her voice broke the silence in the clearing, "It seems that you have forgotten what I have told you a couple months ago and in the library a few days ago as well." her words rolled off of her tongue like honey, "It makes me think that you are not serious in pursuing your family vengeance against the Senju of the North."

Sasuke gained his composure and took a deep breath, "They took away my family they killed my mother and father, my entire clan." Sasuke broke away from the goddess, "If it wasn't for my father and Azuma I would be dead."

Hera crossed to a peacock preening its feathers, she held out her arm for the bird to perch upon. It flew to her arm and landed gently on the goddess, "That is where you are wrong, Sasuke, I am the reason you are alive. If it wasn't for my waking Azuma and protecting him from the raiding Senju you would be dead. Back to the subject, why is it taking you so long to find the girl?"

"She will be found," he stated, "by the light of tomorrow at the latest, but she will be found."

Hera watched the prince, "Sasuke you are not taking this seriously, the blood of four gods runs through her veins, she is a descendant of the gods Kratos, and Zelus and the goddesses Nike and Bia. I have told you, with their blood pumping through your children's hearts, the Uchiha would be unstoppable!" Hera trotted to the prince again, the peacock on her shoulder, "Imagine, the blood of the gods of victory, strength, force and zeal in your bloodline. You need her."

Hera took Sasuke's hand and placed it at his heart, "Imagine how exhilarating it would feel to see King Hashirama, Queen Mito and Prince Konohamaru laying at your feet, begging for mercy." Hera left Sasuke turning her back on him, "You have asked for my help and I am offering it to you, I just need you to cooperate."

Sasuke smirked and hn'ed, "This isn't about me, is it, it is never about the mortals. This is about something far more complicated. I am guessing you want revenge on Leto for giving birth to Artemis and Apollo? You found Sakura, my wife, at her temple and you are using me to get your revenge. I burnt down that temple and I killed that High Priestess like you told me to." Sasuke stopped briefly, "When is next?"

Hera tuned and smiled at Sasuke, "You get her to bear your children, and you take her for yourself. She is no longer associated with Artemis as far as I am concerned, she may be under the protection of the goddess, but the girl is no longer a servant of Artemis."

Sasuke glanced at his burnt hand, then back to his horse grazing the grass in the field, "The Goddess…"

Hera nodded and motioned for Sasuke to approach her; she took his hand and focused her hand on the crescent moon in the center of his palm. The goddess extracted the bright light from the wound and the moon faded from the prince's skin. His horse gave a whine as light was also extracted from his body. "That damn hunter, she will pay." Hera kissed both of Sasuke's cheeks and pulled a lock of hair from her head and it turned into a gold chain necklace a pendent of the Uchiha fan hung from the chain, "This will protect you from more attacks from Artemis, once when you get to your wife put this on her neck, then she is yours permanently."

Sasuke took the chain and clasped it around his neck underneath his armor, "I will have my vengeance on the Senju, and I will rule Greece with the birth of my future children."

"Now go, you must catch up with your legion." And with those words the goddess turned into a white peacock once again, both of the sapphire blue peacocks were already flying in the air waiting for their mistress. The white peacock glistened, light radiated off of its feathers, it then took off into the air and flew away.

Sasuke approached his stallion; he took its head into his hands and stroked the horse's head and neck. The prince ran his fingers through the horse's mane and whispered to him softly, "Shh Mars." Though the prince seemed to be a monster on the outside, he is compassionate about Mars. His white stallion was a gift from his father and mother for his tenth birthday. He took Mars everywhere with him, not including when he had to leave Mars behind when he had to leave for Egypt. Sasuke smiled in remembrance at his childhood memories as he mounted his horse.

The prince walked the horse down the shade of the forest trying to keep the animal cool. Sasuke took this time to think about his future…

(X)

Sakura bathed in the cool clear waters of the river, she took the bottle that Tenten gave her and smothered her body with the liquid inside. The oil smelt heavenly to her as the scent filled her nose, "It smells like him." She muttered. Sakura took the oil and rubbed it vigorously thorough her hair, slowly all of the scratches and bruises burned and faded from her skin, all traces of the chase were erased from her skin. Sakura could feel a pleasurable heat spread throughout her body, but it was concentrated more to her core and lower regions. She closed her eyes as she reached an incredible high, her head span as her eyes rolled back, she bit her lip as the feeling got more intense.

The scent of lavender and roses intoxicated her and filled her with warmth that was foreign to her, she loved this feeling. Sakura failed to notice Tenten's enterance.

"I see you are enjoying my oil," Tenten looked at Sakura shaking her head, "I told you not to waste it."

Sakura froze and she turned her head to look at Tenten, she noticed that the warrior carried clothes in her arms. Sakura took a closer look and found that the clothes were warrior garments, she also saw that Tenten was carrying an extra bow and leather arrow pouch. As realization hit her that the warrior was standing right in front of her, she quickly tried to cover herself as modestly as possible. "Tenten…"

Tenten just rolled her eyes at the girl, "Do you want to know why you enjoyed the oil so much?"

Sakura gave a nod.

Tenten sat down at the edge of the bank and took off her sandals, "As you know that oil was a gift from the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The goddess knew that I am a huntress for the goddess Artemis, so she gave me this specific oil for a reason, I am a virgin and that oil will smell like nothing to me and it wouldn't give me pleasures." Tenten paused as she looked at Sakura process the information, it dawned on her, "Yes, the oil is supposed to recreate your favorite intement moment, sexual experience and conjure the fragrance of you lover."

Sakura immediately hid her face from the brown haired huntress blushing like a red tomato; she could hear Tenten laugh at her. Sakura was embarrassed, but experiencing the smell and feeling of the stranger again was incredible!

Tenten took a deep breath, "I guess I will never feel what you just felt, unless I leave Artemis and the hunt. But I can't I live for the hunt." Tenten placed the clothes at the river's bank, "Go ahead and get dressed, and I'll take that oil from you." The warrior was on her hands and knees as she gestured for the girl to hand her the precious bottle. "I can't have you waste it on pleasure. It has healing properties."

Sakura handed the bottle to Tenten and watched the huntress make her way to the edge of the forest, then she heard her say, "Go ahead and get dressed, we have to get going." The Warrior left and Sakura slowly rose from the water and took the clothes in her hands. The material almost felt different to her, she had never felt this fabric before, and it seemed tear resistant. She carefully put on the first layer of her new outfit, this robe was shorter than her original robe, and its creamy fabric came to about her knees. She then put on the second layer, she examined the armor and found that the leather was light weight and strong. The top of the armor covered her bust shoulders and stomach, the lower armor was like a skirt with multiple strips of light leather. Sakura then strapped the leather pouch of arrows to her side. She looked at her reflection; she couldn't believe what she saw. She didn't see a weak girl, or a house wife, she saw a determined warrior.

Suddenly her stomach seemed to twist she could feel something rise up her throat. Sakura quickly turned away from the river as she emptied her stomach onto the grass by the river side.

**I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!**

**Well school is starting up again soon, and boy am I going to be busy with a musical I auditioned for, (I made it!) I also have to prepare for all state choir process here in my state, so I am going to be very busy, busy bumble bee. I hope to Update the 1st or 2ed of next month (September) I might update earlier. **

**On to the reviews!**

**Thank you to these reviewers:**

Wolf Goddess of Siberia, LibertyForFreedom455, Sam, XBloodMageRikaX, Izanami, ulquihime 7980, Death's Eternal Rose, acetwolf, w, katt massacre5, XionNight, and Hell-fire-sister.

**Message for ulquihime7980 and LibertyForFreedom455: **Well if Sakura was Gaara's wife and she dies, well she dies. What will happen to her will be explained later in the story. And won't worry she won't die anytime soon.

**Message for Izanami: **Well Artemis can't really kill Sasuke, he is under the protection of Hera and Hades as you said, Artemis cannot kill Sasuke right now because Hera would (Tattle) tell to Zeus. And Hera is the Queen of the Gods so she has authority over them.

Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer two reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, **THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING**! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me how I am doing!**

**There are links to art made for this story posted on my profile. Also you can follow me on Twitter to get updates on new chapters and stories.**

**REVIEW!**

**I am considering on getting a beta, does anyone know a good one? Or volunteering?**


	14. Arc I Chapter 13: Tracked

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I now have an update system, I have decided that I will post the date that the new chapter will be posted at the bottom of each chapter in an author's note with the reviews. Please note that I may be late on some posts due to an upcoming school year.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their continued support of this story. It means a lot to receive reviews from old and new readers.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Izanami (August 23) was her birthday. **

**Chapter 13: Tracked**

In the shadows a woman watched the girl heave, her eyes narrowed as the edges of her lips lifted revealing a calculated smirk. She could smell an opportunity for chaos rising. This woman was a goddess of little power; she envied everyone around her and she wanted to have everything. Her long black hair floated in the air defying the gravity that existed. Her extremely long and sharp nails wrapped around the tree trunk as she peered at the girl again, this goddess loved to make trouble.

The winds blew softly and then rose into a crescendo. If mountains could shake in animosity, they would. She could feel how much fun she would have messing with the god's little game they started. This would be more fun than pining Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena with the golden apple. "To the fairest," she said, "Zeus was a fool for passing the judgment to Paris, but it made it even more fun and interesting." Her ultimate goal was to ruin everything that people had. Everyone's pain was her fault, always.

Her ears seemed to have twitched and her blazing amber eyes turned animalistic. Her smooth and dangerous voice cut the short silence in the forest like a knife, "Huntress, revel yourself!"

Tenten emerged from the brush that hid her form the goddess's view. She held her bow tightly in her hands, "What do you think you're doing here Eris?" she said softly, she hoped the winds would rage causing the trees to rustle violently, but alas they did not. The warrior could not afford for Sakura to hear them.

The said goddess lifted the hem of her long purple robe off the ground, all of the edges torn laving holes and small treads dragging on the ground. Her pale bear feet stalked the warrior and she circled around the woman deliberately, like a lioness studying her prey in the wild, "Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to see why there was such a commotion down here." She said thoughtfully. She then glared at the warrior, her head slightly tucked into her chest, "But the question is, what are _you_ doing here?"

Tenten looked at the goddess slightly afraid, uncertain where she was going with this conversation, "I am her guardian charged by Artemis. I have a purpose. You on the other hand are just looking for trouble."

The goddess's claw like nails touched the bottom of Tenten's chin, ghosting over her tanned skin. The warrior went very still. "And you have a right to say that after you took my man away from me?"

Tenten stepped away from the goddess as she defended herself against the accusation "You stole him from Aphrodite in pure jealousy, and you had him poisoned." She glared at her in hatred. She drew an arrow with her hand and pointed it hazardously at the goddess's neck, "You can't treat these mortals like toys!"

"That's what they are to god's alike, toys." Eris strutted to a nearby tree and reached for the nearest branch, she tore the branch off of the treed and shaped it to resemble a man, "Those _mortals_ are for our entertainment," the goddess played with the figurine like a puppet, she made it dance "and if you don't like that, little nymph, I can send you to Hades myself." The wooden man burst into flames for emphasis. "You're the reason why my toy is broken and gone." The goddess fake pouted, "Now I don't know what to do…"

"He was Aphrodite's in the first place, he never belonged to you. He doesn't belong to anyone." Tenten watched the ashes float sadly to the ground. She would hate for that figurine to represent herself, hell, she would hate for that figurine to _be _her!

Eris crossed her arms defensively across her chest, "You WOULD defend that bitch after she gave you a reward. You sicken me." The goddess glanced at the river again and watched the pink haired girl wash her face and mouth with handfuls of clean water. A plan formulated in her head.

"Believe me, you make me even sicker," Tenten mumbled. She started her day with a smile on her face and a couple insults to her charge and now it had to all go downhill. What's next, an invasion of horses and men?

The dark goddess closed her eyes and tossed her hair carelessly as shadows shaded her from the light "Any way, I must be going now. I have lives to ruin." The goddess eyes snapped open and glared at Tenten, "You will pay for what you have done to me."

The goddess faded into the shadows of the trees, the tree seemed to have trembled and its branches shuttered. Eris left no trace of her ever being in the forest.

Tenten stared at the shadows, she then rolled her eyes "What a drama queen." She walked past the brush and trees to the bubbling clear river where Sakura still sat. Tenten rested her hand on one of Sakura's shoulders, "Are you ready to go?"

The pink haired girl nodded as she kept her head down cast, "but I don't really feel good." She rubbed her stomach, "my stomach hurts so much. It must have been all of that running from the day before or that oil. It did kind of mess with my internal organs." Sakura looked at the warrior; her eyes closed happily as the girl tilted her head, "Thank you for the clothes, I am really glad you gave them to me. And I'm happy you're here, I don't know what I would do without you."

Tenten smiled at Sakura as her other hand brushed through the pink girl's hair, "No problem, they're not mine. It was a gift to you from Artemis…" She grabbed Sakura's arms and helped pull her of the ground. The huntress stood back, "turn around." Tenten inspected the girl's clothing as Sakura pivoted gracefully on the balls of her feet. The girl held out her arms from the side of her body, confidently showing off her new wardrobe, "You didn't put the arm guards on properly, in fact, they are upside down." Sakura's confidence deflated dirastically, she looked down at her arms in embarrassment.

Sakura watched Tenten imprudently take off the light brown arm guards and reposition them on her arms. "I will have to thank Artemis for giving me these."

The warrior tightened the thin leather bindings on the arm guards, "These will protect you from your bow when you fire, they will also protect you from the brush and tree limbs."

Tenten stepped away from Sakura again giving her a good second look over, "This leather is special. It was forged by Hephaestus. This armor will defend you against flying arrows and light sword abrasions, but it has no power resisting other gifts of the gods."

Sakura looked thoughtfully at her armor, then she was confused "I know this is bad of me, but who is Hephaestus again?"

Deadpanned Tenten shook her head and bit her pinkish lips, "He is the god of the forge and is married to Aphrodite. Yes he is lame and usually forgotten, but Sakura really?"

"I'll be sure to thank him too in prayer." Sakura said.

The warrior pulled an arrow out and positioned it on her arrow, "First lesson about battle archery, always have your arrow on your quiver during travel. You never know if you are going to come close to encountering your enemies."

Sakura difficulty began to lift her bow and load it with a sharp arrow. Unconsciously the arrow was pointed in Tenten's general direction.

Tenten quickly took away Sakura's bow, "Hey, hey, hey! You will not shoot that until you get done with lesson zero! Gods and goddesses above you could kill someone and that someone would be me!"

Sakura blushed and rung her hands together guiltily. Tenten gave her bow back to her, "Sorry." Sakura mumbled. Her breath caught as she heard a pounding in the distance, it was getting closer.

"I hear it as well…We need to get going." The warrior said hastily, "I can feel the pounding of horse hooves on the ground. He is near." Uttered the warrior, she gestured for Sakura to follow her. "We are going to the north; the Senju will help us, hopefully."

"Senju?" the girl questioned, "The former high priestess at the temple was Tsunade Senju, and no one knows where she went. Is it possible that she returned to the north with her husband?"

"Sakura, at the moment, I don't really care. The most important thing we should be focusing on is getting the hell out of here." The warrior took her bow in both hands, "The last thing we need is for you to get caught."

The pounding of hooves stopped, the silence was deafening.

Tenten froze, "What in hades is going on?" 'Please tell me I didn't jinx myself while talking to Eris, though I wouldn't be surprised if I did.' She tought.

The warrior gestured for Sakura to follow her, her finger held up to her lips signaling for Sakura to be quiet. They both silently moved deeper into the forest, their sandals carefully treading on the soft ground. The two avoided sticks and leaves like the plague, they could not afford to make a sound…even a tiny one.

(X)

Sasuke once again was at the front of his legion, riding on his stallion. The army marched in sync, but the men and horses held their heads downward tiredly. The flags that some of the men held were not held quite as high as they were earlier in the day. The hot blaring sun by now was starting to sink from high noon. The white fluffy clouds were no longer present in the beautiful blue sky.

Azuma kept his eyes on the prince and the road ahead of them, 'Something seems off about him…' the commander thought.

The legion continued marching until Sasuke's stallion, Mars, reared and gave a panicked whinny. The white horse jumped up and down, Sasuke struggled to keep himself on his horse.

On the ground was a dark five foot long snake, its purple scales tore apart from the body and mended themselves together as the great snake stood taller and taller. It spoke to the prince as black hair grew from its head, "There'sss no need to be afraid. I have come bearing newsss for you my prince." The figure morphed into a woman, her long nails raised to the prince offering welcome, deceptive amber eyes met calculating onyx.

Sasuke calmed his stallion and watched the woman twirl her hair, "Who are you, and what kind news do you bring?"

The woman smiled cunningly at the young prince, "I am Eris, and I offer you news of your wife…"

**Cliffhanger!**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this mini-chapter!**

**Guess what? School will start for me this Monday, I am kind of excited to see all of my friends again. Tell me when your first day of school is, and if you are excited to return to it. **

**So yes I did update early for Izanami's birthday, sorry Hun I'm one day late. But expect the scheduled update to be a tat bit shorter.**

**On to the awesome reviewers!**

Guest, Kiteria, XBloodMageRikaX, BloodRuby, ulquihime7980, Sam, Wolf Goddess of Siberia, superfan8, guest2, w, heartlessyukiXD, Izanami, Guest3 (The Lord's Fallen Angel?)

**Message for w: **The gods Kratos, and Zelus and the goddesses Nike and Bia are real gods and goddesses. They are only mentioned briefly in mythology. I will explain them later in the story.

**Message for Guest, Kiteria, BloodRuby, superfan8, heartlessyukiXD: **I don't know…I really don't know.

Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer two reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, **THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING**! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me how I am doing!**

**There are links to art made for this story posted on my profile. Also you can follow me on Twitter to get updates on new chapters and stories.**

**REVIEW!**

**I am considering on getting a beta, does anyone know a good one? Or volunteering?**


	15. Arc I Chapter 14: Descent to Mortality

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I now have an update system, I have decided that I will post the date that the new chapter will be posted at the bottom of each chapter in an author's note with the reviews. Please note that I may be late on some posts due to the school year.**

**Over these past few weeks I have been very busy, I'm sorry I haven't updated as often as I could have. As you know I have a musical to prepare for (Preforming in a couple weeks!) and a state contest for choir, not to mention AP classes and regular classes with homework. So this chapter may be small, but I hope with smaller updates I will be able to update more often.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their continued support of this story. It means a lot to receive reviews from old and new readers.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Dragon MistressLove for her commentary on the last chapter. She requested that I post it here for you guys to read.**

_Eris and Hera stand beside Sasuke. Artemis and Apollo stand beside Sakura. How will the future turn out? Will Sakura ever be able to see her love now that he will be mortal? Find out next chapter ... well when ItachisRose sees fit to reveal it._

**Chapter 14: Descent to Mortality**

Horus watched in silence as the gods and goddesses congratulated Gaara on his appointment to Pharaoh. HE was supposed to be the pharaoh. HE ruled Egypt many times before, why now did this son of Seth earn the throne that is rightfully his? Horus fumed as he clenched his fists, his mood darkened even more. How dare Ra do this to him! Other gods moved away from the red head as the sky god moved angrily toward the appointed Pharaoh.

The room suddenly got cold, so cold that every god in the room froze to watch what the sky god would do. Both gods made eye contact. Horus's golden eyes glared in hatred, and Gaara's green ones in surprise. Horus raised his arm, a fist formed tightly in his hand. His arm unmoving and his fist shook as he tried to suppress the urge to hit the redhead. Horus took a deep breath and lowered his fist. 'Damn you Gaara…Damn you.' The god thought.

Horus gave Gaara a look over as he sized him up, "Enjoy it while it lasts. You may have everyone else fooled, but you don't fool me. You are nothing but a monster."

The sky god shoved the red head out of his way spitting in Gaara's face. Horus made eye contact with his father, Osiris nodded, and then Horus left the room. He stood by the entry way silently fuming, his back resting firmly against the wall. He sneered at a passing goddess who also left the room; she stopped and meekly bowed her head in submission.

Her baby bright blue eyes met his eyes fearfully, "H-Horus..." she stuttered.

Horus still leaning on the wall had his eyes closed, smoothly he said, "For being the Goddess of the scorpion and poisons, you sure are fearful." the sky god stated rather arrogantly. He approached her, his steps very silent on the garnet floors.

The torches on the walls flickered lightly in the underworld wind. In the distance you could hear crickets and other animals humming. A hawk glided in the wind and descended, the golden hawk handed gracefully on top of a tall statue of Ra. On the ground a small black scorpion hiked through the gardens, its pinchers opening and closing as it walked.

The goddess bowed her head again, and quivered in fear, "It's only right. You are a hawk after all, and your kind eats my kind."

"Though on rare occasion your kind kills my kind when attacked," He took her long, soft, pale black hair into his hands and twirled it in his fingers, "You shouldn't be so meek. You represent the armor and poison of a scorpion, the ultimate defense and offence." The goddess raised her head and her blue eyes met his, "But then again you can use your passiveness to surprise your target, killing them."

The goddess stepped away from him fearfully, but she strongly said, "I'm not like that at all!"

Outside the hawk flew down to the small black scorpion on the ground and clawed at it with its talons. The scorpion in turn attacked its attacker with its pinchers and its poisonous tail, every time it attacked the poor scorpion would miss its target. Then something amazing happened, the hawk's head swooped under the scorpion's body and the black scorpion was perched on its head like a beautiful black crown.

Horus smiled as he dropped his hands to his sides, his smoldering eyes met hers, "You just proved my point, when provoked you defend yourself. Strongly I might add."

"Stop what you're saying right now!" The goddess panicked.

"Calm yourself Serket…I just want to offer you my assistance." Horus advanced to her again, and he took her tattooed hands into his, "Such a deadly beauty, she who poisons and cures, an attacker and a protector."

Serket's heart began to beat faster as blush reached her cheeks, "I guess I do that…" The God moved closer to her until she had her back against a wall and was surrounded by his arms and body, she was afraid now, 'I'm such a mess of emotions.' She thought. The sky god leaned in closer to her, his face getting nearer to hers, 'Don't touch me!' she panicked.

Suddenly the golden eyed god was stabbed in the chest by the goddess's black armored tail. The god screamed as poison entered his immortal body, the venom made the god fall to the ground as his muscles lost their strength.

The goddess's eyes widened as she saw the sky god fall to the ground, "Horus, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." The scorpion goddess fell to the ground and cradled the sky god in her arms; she then laid the god on the cold garnet floors. The goddess closed her eyes as she leaned into his chest, her lips meeting the wound she had inflicted upon him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' She repeated in her head.

By this time her tail receded under her dress and into her back, the goddess sucked the poison from the god's body. She gave the god her strength as she removed her poison from him.

What Horus felt was complete ecstasy, for the first time in centuries he felt his body relax, he thought about nothing as energy flooded through him. 'This power…I want more…' Horus's arms reached the goddess on top of him and wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer. He breathed in her hair, "Come with me" he whispered.

(X)

Gaara watched Horus leave the room, his eyes staring blankly at the entry way. Why didn't he speak up at the meeting, why couldn't he just say, 'I decline' or something along those lines? Now he was going to become Pharaoh. Pharaoh! And at the same time too, a mortal! He would lose his godly powers while he was exposed to mortality. No more sand that will bend to his will and the super strength that he had would no longer exist. He would be forced to take care of his mortal body. He didn't know what he was most afraid of, dying as a mortal or failing Ra when he would send Egypt into Chaos, maybe both. Perhaps Horus was best for the job; he has done it so many times before.

"Gaara are you okay?" Gaara was unresponsive as Temari wiped the saliva off of his face with the edge of her sleeve, she was careful to avoid his eyes. "Damn sky god thinks he rules the world."

Anubis stood behind Temari clutching his stomach as he laughed at his little brother, "Well it looks like your eye makeup is messed up now." Temari's eye twitched as she turned to face her mutt brother, Anubis stopped laughing as his face froze in fear. "Please don't hurt me." He muttered.  
>Temari smirked as she raised her hand and slapped him across the face, "Thanks for reminding me!" She yelled. "Stupid mutt..."<p>

Once again all of the gods and goddesses in the room stopped, and stared at them. "I say, is it just me or are the adolescents acting up again?" an elderly god said his salt and pepper hair hanging in a small pony tail.

Another elder god, this one grey haired answered, whispering rather loudly, "Mating season I suppose sir?"

Temari blew her top off, "It is not mating season!" She said angrily, "Stay out of our business!" she was getting sick and tired of these old farts telling her what to do. They had no right to her life or make any side comments about her antics.

"Defiantly mating season…" Anubis whispered to Gaara. Anubis turned to Gaara, "Gaara is something wrong? If it's about your makeup, it looks fine, really does. It just needs a-a touch up!"

Gaara's blank face met Anubis's, his eyes sad. He just stood there unmoving. How could he possibly be Pharaoh? He has no leadership skills; he doesn't even know how to run a government, no less his own chaotic life. Gaara's fingernails dug into the palms of his hands, his arms shook slightly, and 'I must not get angry at myself. Anger just leads to people fearing me and I always end up hurting someone, I must not get angry.'

At the mention of her littlest brother's name Temari stopped her rage. The goddess turned sharply and she watched her brother try to fight his inner turmoil, her face softened and she bit the inside of her cheeks, 'Gaara…' she thought sadly, 'I don't know what you're thinking about, but don't beat yourself up too much.'

Gaara swiftly left the room, small particles of sand floated in the air in his wake.

"Mating season." The grey haired god said again, "Defiantly mating season."

(X)

Gaara rested on the terrace of the palace; while he dwelled on the thought of becoming Pharaoh he played his sand shaping it and molding it into many different forms. Often he found that the sand sculptures would be of that girl, no, woman. He shaped her eyes; they were beautiful and wide, eyes that would question everything, determined eyes. He then shaped her mouth, soft lips full and plump when kissed, they were perfectly symmetrical. Then her nose that had smooth curved contours that belonged on her face. He stared at his work of art, this unique beauty; he left the sand drift to the ground. The original was far more beautiful than his child's play.

Maybe there is a chance he could see her again, but that's less likely to happen.

"A woman you love?" a wise voice spoke.

Gaara turned to see Ra enter the terrace; he then looked at the sun in the underworld sky "A woman I could only dream of having." Gaara molded the sand again, a full replica walked on the terrace gracefully. The woman then picked up a flower and brought it to her nose and then she set it lightly on the stone railing.

"She is beautiful," The older god said. He took the small flower off of the railing and smelled it, "I would imagine that she is more beautiful in the flesh though."

"She is more beautiful than a sunset over the dessert, and she just as determined as a lion on the hunt." Gaara said his eyes half closed. "I met her once but then she left. I was going to go see her again, I searched for her, but then I found her on a ship to Greece. There was nothing I could do."

Ra took a deep breath, "As you may know I do not have a wife, but I do understand what you are going through. I once loved a mortal woman, but sadly she died. I tried to find her within the city, but she was no were to be found. Later I discover from Thoth and Ma'at that she had a wicked heart, she was consumed by Ammit." Ra walked to the young god and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I was broken hearted for many years, but I'm not saying that you should give up on your interest, she may comeback, and she may not comeback. All you have right now is hope that she is alive and well."

Gaara once again stared at the sun as it sank in the sky, getting closer and closer to the underworld's horizon. "I don't know if I am ready to be Pharaoh. I don't even think I can be a Pharaoh, I can't be the morning and evening star."

Ra walked steadily to the other side of the terrace and stopped, "I chose you for a reason Gaara, I feel that you will make Egypt flourish, and your dynasty will be one of Egypt's longest dynasties. When the time is right you will know what to do." Ra paused. "It is time for you to prepare for your ceremony. You will not ascend to the upper-world with the rest of the gods on Aken's boat, instead you will ride with me on my raft and at high noon you will descend on to the upper-world. Come" Ra gestured for Gaara to follow him, he followed without complaint.

Both Ra and Gaara descended the steppes of the terrace and Ra lead Gaara to his sun raft floating on the water. The gods and goddess who attended the meeting crowed around the brook that leads to the underworld's Nile River. Ra conjured a chest from the large raft, and he opened it, inside were the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, the white crown nestled inside of the red one. Ra removed the double crown from the chest and placed it onto his throne. He then bit his thumb, drawing a golden red blood from his finger. The god then placed his thumb to Gaara's forehead and drew a large circle, his thumb then slid down the redhead's nose. Ra then lifted his bloodied thumb and then placed it on Gaara's chest were his heart was and he drew another circle, then his thumb slid down to Gaara's belly button and he drew another circle. "By my immortal power of magic and life, I decree that Gaara, god of the sands, descend to mortality. That his immortality dies, and he is reborn a mortal, and along with his immortality his power of the sands also die. Gaara, do you swear that you will protect Egypt at all costs?"

"I will." He said.

"And will you take care of your flesh and bone?"

"I will."

"And so when your job in the upper-world is complete, you shall rejoin us as whom you were, the immortal god of the sands." Ra took the crown from his throne and he placed the crown upon Gaara's head. The blood that was on Gaara's body began to glow as Gaara felt his immortality and his power slowly fade away. "I give you the morning and evening star, the protector of Egypt, Mortal Pharaoh Ruler of the upper and lower kingdoms, Gaara."

The gods that stood around the brook cheered as Ra lead Gaara on to his sun raft, Gaara then sat on the throne as Ra stood behind him. By this time the sun had now set upon the underworld, and the raft raised its self into the air and then plunged into the waters of the brook. And soon the raft rose into the sky of the upper-world.

"You will make a fine Pharaoh." Ra said suddenly.

"Why do you say that?" Gaara asked.

Ra smirked and laughed to himself, "Because every time Horus became a mortal and he rose to the upper-world he would throw up."

**I want to thank the following people for reviewing: **

Sam, Lunardragon33, your FAN, solonotes, Seraphina Dragon, hateme101, Kiteria, Dragon MistressLove, Uchiha-Evelene18, Namichiko, AnjuHime, Tori-Bird627, Sam, ulquihime7980, Hinata'sMuse, hyuugahinata247, yuwei, w, Izanami, XBloodMageRikaX, Guest (The Lord's Fallen Angel) kill everything, Guest.

**Message for Tori-Bird627 and ulquihime7980: **Yes, Eris is a real Greek goddess; she is the goddess of discord. She is a very mischievous goddess, she likes to make trouble. I borrowed her appearance from The Legend of Sinbad, I thought that her appearance look bad ass, so I decided to use it. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far, I am too. If only I could find more time to update more often I would, but I am determined to finish this story!

**Message for Izanami: **I am so sorry for the mix up, I am so, so sorry. I'm happy you are starting your senior year, and you are just about to graduate. I am a couple years from graduating from High School. My goal is to have 15 stories on Fanfiction before I graduate. Aphrodite will make an appearance.

Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer two reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, **THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING**! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me how I am doing!**

**There are links to art made for this story posted on my profile. Also you can follow me on Twitter to get updates on new chapters and stories.**

**REVIEW!**


	16. Arc I Chapter 15: The Exposed Truth

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I now have an update system, I have decided that I will post the date that the new chapter will be posted at the bottom of each chapter in an author's note with the reviews. Please note that I may be late on some posts due to the school year.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their continued support of this story. It means a lot to receive reviews from old and new readers.**

**Chapter 15: The Exposed Truth**

Sasuke calmed his stallion and watched the woman twirl her hair, "Who are you, and what kind news do you bring?"

The woman smiled cunningly at the young prince, "I am Eris, and I offer you news of your wife…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the woman, but he smiled otherwise welcoming any news of his bride. He dismounted Mars and he stood directly in front of the goddess. Both on common ground, "Eris, you are the goddess of discord." He said while looking her in the eyes, "I am afraid of what news you will reveal to me, considering how you have caused strife among the gods. Paris was a fool."

The goddess approached the prince, Mars became unsettled as she stroked his forehead and nuzzled her face into his mane. The horse knew that this woman meant harm, she was holding back.

"Indeed, Paris was a fool. If only he knew that the apple could disappear if he said none of them were the fairest. All of those foolish goddess wronged me, none of them deserved it." The goddess closed her eyes and breathed in the horse's scent, "Though it saddens me that one of those goddesses have visited you only a couple of hours ago."

On the inside Sasuke yearned for the information the goddess offered him, but he had to be careful. If he insulted the goddess in any way, she may not reveal her information and will despise him for the rest of his existence. "Goddess, please, what is it that you wished to tell me?"

Eris pouted and she then looked at her nails, "Oh Sasuke, Prince Sasuke, you don't think I have already forgot about that do you? I just wanted to have a little fun. Existence gets boring when you have nothing to do." The goddess laughed, she looked at all the mystified and terrified faces around her. "Your soldiers seem take a great interest in me. Their fear fuels me, it would be fun to cause some distrust among them." She pointed to a man on top of his horse, "You come here."

Sasuke watched has his commander dismounted from his horse, "Eris, what is it that you plan to do?"

She brushed off the prince and smiled, "Nothing that concerns you, but watch the magic happen."

Azuma held a scene of fear as he approached the goddess. Eris, he recalled, was the goddess of discord. A woman who would whisper into the ears of men and women alike and make them distrust one another. A woman who would lead a man down the path of darkness and doubt, he had to be careful around this vixen.

The goddess's demeanor changed from dark and foreboding to light and comforting, "What is your name soldier?" she asked.

Azuma met her eyes, he instantly relaxed, "Azuma Sarutobi."

"You have a wife at home don't you?" Her skin appeared softer, her complexion more welcoming, shiny ebony hair wisped around her head dancing in the wind. "You have been separated from her for years haven't you?"

Azuma nodded, slowly he fell into a false sense of security.

Sasuke watched in horror as his second in command fell into the palms of the goddess's hands. Now he understood, the goddess was teaching him a lesson of manipulation. He looked at the soldiers around them, they appeared to be frozen in time, all of their gazes set on their commander.

Eris went for the attack, "So many years and you are sure she is still loyal to you?" Eris brushed the back of her hand along Azuma's face, "I could be loyal to you."

Azuma felt weak and weary, a goddess loyal to him? That would be amazing, but Kurenai and his child. It would be horrible is he left them behind. A dark feeling fell upon him, Kurenai could have another man in the house. The thought of another man pleasuring his wife infuriated him, another man teaching his child the ways of the world! She would have to pay. Wait what was he thinking? Kurenai wouldn't do that to him, she loved him. "And I love her." He said out loud. Azuma glared at the goddess, everything good about her melted away like the illusion she was.

Eris stared at the commander in disbelief; she then turned her attention back to Sasuke, "It seems that your commander is a very loyal person. You should be privileged to have a man like him as your second hand." She then looked at Azuma, "You may go."

Azuma left her, he couldn't believe that he had almost turned his back on his wife for a goddess who was just using him. He then mounted his horse again and watched the prince talk to the goddess. Azuma shook his head he almost turned his back on his family. What would his father say?

Eris glided to the prince and smiled, "Your commander passed his test, and you passed yours. You earned the information that I am about to give you."

The prince nodded, he glanced at his commander, and he saw Azuma's face twisting into various expressions. "Please goddess, what do you have?"

Her face melted into a visage of malevolence, "Your wife is with child."

Sasuke stared at the goddess in confusion, "What? How is that possible? I haven't taken her to my bed." Realization hit the prince. He grimaced at the thoughts that ran through his head.

The goddess smiled and hissed, "Yesss, that is correct, sssomeone else took her to their bed. Your lovely wife has run away in shame. Just this morning I saw her sick."

Anger grew within Sasuke, the woman betrayed him! The prince's body shook his eyes a fiery flame. Soon their color changed from pitch black to a scorching red. Sasuke eyed the goddess as her fresh memories flashed through his head. He watched his _wife,_ damn the word was bitter in thoughts, shed her clothes and reveals the body he had yet not seen. He saw her pull on armor, she did look dangerously radiant. Then he saw her hurl. The small thought of her not being with child crossed his mind, she could've merely been sick, but a woman with noble deity blood could never get ill.

"Commander!" he yelled as he broke his gaze with Eris, eyes fading to black again. He turned to face Azuma who was still in a state of denial, "Commander!"

Azuma awakened from his daze looked to his leader, "Yes sir?"

"Increase the search. I want her in my grasp within the next hour, or so help me gods and goddesses above there will be Hades to pay." The prince mounted his horse.

"Alive sir?" Azuma looked at his leader nervously.

He glared down at his commander, "Of course alive. I need to see and hear for myself what she has done. If she has committed this act of adultery she has very well spit on the goddess Hera. Go commander, I will not tolerate failure."

The commander nodded and called to the men around him, they assembled and made their way up into the hill side.

Eris glided to the prince and looked up to him as he sat on his stallion, she brushed her hand softly up and down his leg, "You look tired prince, and your wife's betrayal must hurt you. I could help you relax…forget your troubles?"

Sasuke looked down at the goddess, "You have caused more trouble than I can handle. I thank you goddess, but I do not seek comfort only vengeance."

The goddess was almost frozen, her face no longer cunning. Her flowing black hair fell to the small of her back as her animalistic eyes turned blue. She stared at the prince in wonder, such determination he had. Such anger. He had turned down her charms, yet she was not offended. The goddess breathed deeply, she wanted to reach to him and claim him as hers. "Claim your vengeance my prince. I will be watching…" The goddess faded away.

And with that Sasuke and Mars ascended into the mountains.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it is a sort chapter, it'll get longer.**

**The next update will be on November 25, 2012.**

**There are links to art made for this story posted on my profile. I got a tumbler, omgosh it's so fun.**

**On the next chapter I will do the messages and questions.**

**Review!**


	17. Arc I Chapter 16: Victory and Wine

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I now have an update system, I have decided that I will post the date that the new chapter will be posted at the bottom of each chapter in an author's note with the reviews. Please note that I may be late on some posts due to the school year.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their continued support of this story. It means a lot to receive reviews from old and new readers.**

**Sorry I updated so late…hopefully the length changes a few things.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Pilar Ann and Mary Mab, who reviewed a lot in one sitting. I was very surprised when I saw a *Beep* load of emails in my email. Made my day.**

Chapter 16: Victory and Wine

The huntress found the silence of the forest deafening, no birds sang, no leaves rustled in the nonexistent afternoon breeze. Everything was silent as the grave and the pathway to Hades.

Tenten glanced behind her to see Sakura in her new armor following close behind, the huntress understood what amount of danger the two were in, and it was not looking good. She had felt the stopping of foot soldiers and horse hooves in the earth while Sakura bathed in the river, Tenten never thought that they would get so close to them in such a short amount of time. "We should have moved when we had the chance, why didn't I think about that earlier?" The huntress maneuvered through the brush with expert precision. Twisting and turning and flexing her body to move around the branches of the trees.

The sun's rays filtered through the branches of the trees, the huntress sweated nervously, 'Damn it, we should have left sooner!' she thought. The huntress drew her bow and arrow and she held it down at the ready position, she will not be caught off guard, not when she has a charge given to her by her goddess. "Artemis above, help me through this." Tenten glanced all around her taking note of her surroundings, she watched for any movement and she strained her ears for any approaching noise. There were none. The huntress took note of the moss on the trunks of the bark of the trees as her hand brushed up against the bark and nodded; good they were going north, all they had to do go north then west to reach the coast. The mountainous terrain became more rugged. "We just have to lose this army, and then everything will be alright." She bargained with herself.

Tenten bit the side of her cheek as her brown eyes glanced to the ground, Adrenaline pumped through her veins and heat heightening each of her senses. She concentrated on the task at hand, she remembered each and every lesson her goddess taught her. 'Leave no mark of your passing if you do not want to be found.' The huntress once again turned to the pink haired girl and looked at the trail she was leaving. There was none. 'For a temple girl she's pretty light on her feet, very mindful too. She'd make a great huntress.' She thought to herself.

The ground beneath them became harder as they left the soft soil of the lower mountain. The rocks slightly jagged and rough, the huntress worried, 'When on the rocky surface be mindful of each and every small rock. It might seem to be insignificant, but a single rock will reveal yourself to your prey…' The goddess once said to her. Tenten treaded lightly on the stone, 'This is not good. I have no idea where these soldiers are, and it is so silent that if either of us makes a considerable amount of noise we're doomed to discovery. This is not good at all.'

Sakura watched the huntress take in the surrounding forest and mountain rock, she stayed silent she knew that her freedom and life was on the line. She removed her armguards due to her constant sweating and the afternoon's heat. The pink haired girl took in a small breath of air and exhaled, everything in her once calm life turned into chaos and confusion. She bit her lip as she thought of all of the events that led up to this chase and she shook her head. 'Well I shouldn't pity myself right now. I have to admit I did say to my mother a lot of times that I wanted adventure in my life, well now I guess I have it.' Sakura stopped it has been a while since she thought about her parents; she came to the temple of Artemis when she was younger after the fatal accident that killed her mother and father. Her body shook as the memories of her parents smiling and waving at her flashed through her mind, 'I can't think about that right now, it's too painful.' Her body shuddered and suddenly the rock beneath her feet shifted and she lost her balance as she began to fall backward. Her eyes widened as gravity pulled her toward the earth. Rocks tumbled down the mountain like a small waterfall, knocking trees and boulders with echoes of clicks and clacks.

"Sakura!" The huntress took a step to catch the falling girl and failed as sharp rocks pierced through her worn down sandals. The huntress let out a scream as the pain rocketed through her foot and leg. She cursed as her mistake became evident: She gave away their position on the mountain. Tenten's eyes flashed to Sakura, 'What have I done…'

Sakura stared at the huntress falling to the ground wide eyed, she had always thought that the huntress was invincible, but she was just like anyone else she made mistakes as well. Sakura hit the ground with a thud her left arm taking the force of the blow onto the jagged rocks, more rocks fell down the mountain side, this time with more force and sound as they carried the rosette along with them. She winced as she rolled down the mountain each rock ensnaring her skin, she was sure her arms would bruise within the next few minutes.

Sakura groaned as her descent came to a grueling stop, her left arm quivered. The girl watched as thick red liquid dripped from the puncture holes on her skin. "Not good…" She whispered to herself.

The forest no longer held silence. Soon the sound of distant shouts and commands erupted through the mountainous pass and the clomping of hooves followed and birds flew into the sky sounding their alarm.

Both women froze and their eyes met, one message went through their head, 'RUN!'

The huntress quickly rose to her feet, her face twisted as pain once again shot up her leg as her injured foot met the ground bleeding liquid red life from the wound. She yelled to Skaura, "It's no use trying to be discrete it's time to run like hell!" She breathed, Tenten slid down the rocks with her good foot and pulled Sakura to her feet avoiding her left arm and both women tried to move higher up the peak. Sakura wrapped her arm tightly around Tenten despite the pain to support the huntress and the two scuffled in the stones blood trailing behind the hunter and priestess.

Various thoughts went through her head and Sakura stopped, her eyes scanned the area, more specifically the peak they were climbing to, "If we go any higher we will be surrounded for sure."

The huntress clenched her teeth, 'I know I made a mistake and I have screwed up big time, but Sakura please just trust me.' The huntress pleaded silently with the girl, she was getting desperate, "Sakura, it's the only chance we have to escape this, it is best to have the high ground. Get your bow out, and hold it at the ready, don't shoot until you are sure you'll hit them."

Sakura drew her bow and positioned it on the string, she was so inexperienced with this weapon, she didn't get how this could help them, hell she could shoot 100 arrows and still miss one target. Fumbling with her arrow in injured left hand, she painfully pulled the bow string and aimed it down the mountain side. She silently prayed to the gods that she would not miss a target, but she knew how unlikely that was. Her mind stopped, this is her first time shooting an arrow, and her targets are people! Sakura's heart broke, these men have families, and she looked down at the bow and her bleeding hand, she would take away a human life. This was not her nature; she lived to help others not destroy their lives! Sakura lowered her bow.

"What do you think you're doing? Raise your bow now; they will be here any minute!" The huntress shouted at the rosette.

The girl shook her head, "I can't do this, I can't take away a human life."

Tenten glared at Sakura, "We don't have time for this. They are coming to get you. You should not be worried about their lives, they chose to join the military and they know what the consciences are, you on the other hand cannot get caught by them."

Sakura bit her cheek, "But they have families. If I kill one of them then that will be a mother who loses a son, a wife that loses a husband and daughter or son who loses a father. I don't want to be the cause of someone else's grief. I just can't take away a life."

Tenten huffed, she as visibly irritated, "Sakura, if there is one thing in this world it is the choice of selflessness or self-preservation. In this state we can't afford to be selfless, these men are here to get you and take you away; you are only making their lives easier by giving up. Do you want to give up? Give up your freedom, your life? Be my guest; go be the house wife to a cruel prince."

The huntress paused, "Now here is your choice, you or them?"

Sakura once again looked at her bleeding hand holding the bow string, 'I've been selfish since I ran away that night in Egypt, I wanted something different, and I didn't want to be…a house wife.' Sakura raised her bow, determination shown in her eyes, 'I can be selfish for a little while longer.'

The huntress smiled, she was satisfied with the girl's choice. She herself drew her bow and arrow at the ready, 'well now we've got to fight our way out of this one, I'm just not sure if we'll win this battle…'

(X)

The crown prince of southern Greece held on to the reins of his horse tightly, rage pulsed through his body with every beat his heart gave. He needed to find her; he was not going to be humiliated by her leaving. Sweat slid down his arms and face as his search turned more frantic. This woman! How could one woman cause him so much misery? Mars trotted through the forest as the prince's mind was occupied his breathing just as intense as the prince. The prince's knuckles turned white as his grip intensified, things could have been much easier without this hunt!

Two other men on horseback flanked the prince each armed with ropes, swords, bows, arrows and a small vial of a sleeping drug. The first one, Taka, wore bronze armor and a red toga underneath, the other, Manchi, held the same attire, these men were roman warriors, the prince's most prized warriors, and they worked for him and him alone. No Greek General, commander or any other rank could control them, they pledged their loyalty to the crown prince. Both men were silent.

A scream echoed through the mountain pass and Sasuke snapped his head in the direction it came. Whoever it was they were close by. "Yah!" The prince pulled the reins on Mars and the stallion galloped through the forest, weaving through each and every tree, bush and stone with great agility. His mane and tail danced in the air as his hooves met the ground. Sasuke sat atop his horse and moved in cadence with each step Mars took, his arms raised as he guided the horse through the terrain, his black hair blew harshly in the wind the stallion created.

The two roman men also followed closely behind the prince and his horse, their stallions moving with an equal amount of nimbleness and speed. Swatches of green and brown passed the horsemen as they raced in and out of the trees. Everything moved in a blur as they got closer to a rocky peak.

The scream had attracted more of the prince's army, as Sasuke and Mars ran through the forest more and more soldiers on horseback followed close behind them, all galloping at the same speed. The rocky peak got closer and closer and the other horses tried to keep their balance on the jagged terrain, but Mars kept strong.

Before long the prince left his men behind as their horses refused to climb the mountainside, only red followed the blue prince. The men dismounted their horses, and pulled their swords from their sheath as ran behind the ascending horses yelling as they ran up the mountain.

Mars stayed true to his rider as he scaled the rock, every so often he would slip on stone, but he would regain his balance with his other hooves. The stallion's breath deepened, and his muscles strained, his fur sheen with sweat. The horse huffed heavily putting one leg in front of the other; he tucked his chin and watched the ground, weary of any rocks that would harm him. Unexpectedly Mars reared, an arrow shoot straight past his front right leg. The stallion stood at a standstill.

Sasuke's head snapped to the direction where the arrow had come, there on top of the peak, was his wife, bow in hand, arrow gone. He could see the determination painted on her beautiful face, she was not afraid of him, nor was he afraid of her. His eyes narrowed as he saw her left arm dirty and dripping with blood. She would not last long with that bow, her arm would soon grow weak as her bravery would wane. He saw his wife again load her bow and take aim at him, they both made eye contact, his eye brows rose and her eyes widened. The prince smirked as his wife's hold on the arrow faltered.

'Today you will be caught.'

(X)

The goddess Artemis watched everything happen in the skies above on Mount Olympus, "They're not going to make it." She whispered. To the goddess's right a board held the figurines of the key people in this game. Her huntress and former priestess were badly injured, their figurines held the facial expression of pain and fear. The goddess felt the presence of another deity, she stood up and turned sharply to the figure behind her, her eyes blazing, "What do you want Hera?" Artemis growled, she detested the woman who stood in front of her.

Hera glided to the hunter's perch at the large board, "You know what I want Artemis, you know what I protect." Hera's eyes looked down at the young goddess, the outcome of her husband's betrayal, acid already built up in her throat. "You realize that you will lose. It's a losing battle."

Artemis glared at the elder goddess, "I know of that, but this is a winning War." She turned away from the goddess and watched the mortals below.

Hera smiled mockingly, "So this is what the great goddess of childbirth does, pouts about her games pieces. What else would you expect of a daughter of a whore?"

Artemis turned sharply to the woman again, energy rolled off of her figure. The elder goddess stared amused at the three bears emerging behind the angry goddess, along with other animals of the hunt.

"What did you call my mother?" Artemis brought her bow in front of herself and aimed it at the goddess.

Hera simply smiled and pulled at a peacock feather in her hair. Just as she did so, the feather turned gold, the bristles sharpened, "Are you sure you want to play this game Artemis, what would your precious father think of your childish behavior?"

Artemis screamed, "You will not win Hera, mark my words I will find some way to do it."

Hera smirked at the goddess, "Then why aren't you down there right now helping your huntress and the little girl?"

"Because they are their own person, they don't need me to hold their hand every step of the way unlike your prince Sasuke." Artemis held a fire in her eyes, "My people are not puppets, unlike your people, and you enjoy creating messes."

Hera twirled the sharp golden peacock feather in her hands, "That I do, because that is a god is supposed to do. The world is our playground; we can do what we wish to it. If we wanted the earth to burn, we would will it to. If we wanted a flood, then there would be a great flood. You Artemis are too compassionate about the worth of a mortal life, they are meant to be our pawns."

Artemis glared at the goddess, "If you destroy them and play with them like dolls, then who will worship you willingly? Who will come to you when they seek help?"

Hera smiled as she neared the goddess and looked down on her, "They have worshiped me willing for the past millennium and they will do it for another millennium and so on, because I embody what most women want: A perfect marriage, a perfect house, with perfect children. I am something that mortal women and men yearn for, but they can never have. I am the world, I am perfection."

The elder goddess pushed the younger goddess's chest with her finger effectively pushing her, "You are an imperfection, you were born from a woman who was not a goddess, you were born from a scandal, you were made dirty."

Artemis scowled, "But you gave birth to war due to your constant need for perfection. That is your flaw."

Hera smiled as she glanced at the board, specifically the two roman guards the prince had, Artemis followed the goddess's gaze and she saw how proud that goddess was of those figurines, "You made them didn't you?"

The elder goddess walked to the board gracefully, delicately picking up one of the roman figurines, "Yes I did, I made them years ago in hopes that they would take over Greece, but it seems that they lack the motivation to do so…" She carelessly threw the figurine on the board, its leg broke.

"How could you be so cruel even to your own creation?" Artemis seethed, yes that roman was Hera's creation, but it was still a delicate mortal life.

"As you said before, they are dolls, sadly dolls break. Some can be repaired though…" The goddess picked up the broken leg and crushed it in her hand, "and others are no longer fun to play with." Hera pulled her hair back with the feather, it once again turned brown, green and purple and assumed its original texture. The elder goddess no longer felt that the other goddess was a threat. Hera began to leave the courtyard and the goddess when she paused and turned to face the goddess of the hunt, "Artemis my dear, the war has just begun, and as always I am sure to win."

Artemis watched the goddess leave, she walked to the board again and watched the figurine with the broken leg, its face twisted into an expression of agony. She picked up the figure gingerly and blew on it, its leg grew back and the goddess whispered into the figurine's ear, "Help my huntress and priestess escape the prince, you will be rewarded for your service to me, forget the goddess Hera, for she was the one who hurt you." The goddess placed the roman back on the board and she watched as the events unfolded.

"I'm sorry I can't help you right now girls, but we have to prove Hera wrong."

(X)

Sakura tensed, she tried to fight her way from his holding stare, the fire in her green eyes dulled. He found her. Her heart beat increased as his stare intensified, her knees wobbled and she winced when his smirk graced his face.

The huntress glanced at the girl after she shot the arrow and then to the prince, 'Oh no.' Tenten panicked as she saw the prince stare down her charge. She drew another arrow and pulled the bow string and aimed for him. Just when she was about to release her arrow, two flew over her head. The huntress quickly turned her head and cursed, two men who wore red held their bows and drew another arrow, thinking quickly then huntress drew another arrow and she turned her bow sideways, and released two arrows at the same time. They flew across the air, but missed as her arrows were met by theirs. The huntress blinked a thousand times, "How is that even possible?"

The men got closer and closer as they neared the peak, the hunt was almost up.

Panicked, the huntress shook Sakura breaking the priestess from her trance, "Get a hold of your senses girl." Tenten glanced over her shoulder and she saw the prince and two men sitting on top of their restless horses watching their every move. The huntress once again looked at the rosette, "You need to leave." The huntress looked over her shoulder again.

The rosette looked at the huntress confused, "Leave? What about you? I can't leave you, you're injured."

The huntress grabbed the girl's wrists, she saw her finch as she took her left hand, "Sakura, they are not after me."

The rosette leaned toward the huntress, "You're not surrendering…" It wasn't a question.

Tenten shook her head to appease the girl, "I'll hold them off for as long as I can, but you need to go now." Tenten pulled a bag from her belt, "Here, this has the medicine and bandages, once you're far enough fix your arm." The girl nodded as she took the bag in her hands, "Don't worry about me," said the huntress, "I'll be fine on my own. I am a hunter of Artemis aren't I?"

The rosette took the bag into her hands and looked the huntress in the eyes, "Thank you," Sakura gave it back to the huntress, "But you need this more than I do." Sakura then gave the huntress a quick hug and she stood and looked down on the prince on the slope. Their eyes met briefly and then then she ran.

Tenten watched in horror as the girl took off onto the mountain ridge, she then heard the galloping of horse hooves and rocks tumbling down the mountain side, in amazement she saw the prince's horse jump over her head and take off after the girl. The huntress bit her cheek as she turned her head to meet the red horsemen, "I'm not going down without a fight." As she said those words she drew five arrows from her holster and positioned them on the arc of her bow. She took quick aim and fired, the red horsemen ducked and they rapidly rapidly moved their horses out of the way. Taka loaded his bow and fired back, arrow after arrow, constantly firing on the huntress. Tenten rolled to avoid the barrage of arrows; she took out another arrow and fired on the archer on horseback. She heard a yell, she glanced over her shoulder, the rider was sprawled on the ground and her arrow embedded into his thigh. 'One down, another to go'

The huntress searched for the other horsemen, bit she didn't see him anywhere, "Looking for someone?" The huntress quickly turned and she came face to face with a sword. "You know I don't take kindly to people who hurt my brother."

Thinking quickly the huntress slid down the rocky slope to the horse and she took the sword from the saddle bag. "I don't take kindly to people who chase my charge."

The rider dismounted his horse and glared at the huntress, "Touché." Manchi raised his sword and he met the huntress swinging his sword. On the ground she effectively blocked his attack with the brother's sword, with the strength she had she pushed her opponent's sword away and swung at his legs. Manchi jumped away from the huntress and he attacked again. Tenten quickly stood, but she soon regretted it as pain flew up her leg.

Manchi raised one of his eye brows, "Injured?" He looked down at the huntress's foot and he smiled, "That looks pretty bad, tell me, were you the one who revealed your location?" The huntress growled as she attacked the roman out of anger. Manchi laughed as he blocked her attack, "I would be angry too if I made a fatal mistake, you will fall."

Tenten withdrew her sword and she prepared for another attack, "I am a huntress of the goddess Artemis, I will not fall." She swung the sword again and Manchi blocked again, instead of pulling back and attacking the huntress, the roman twisted the sword out of the huntress's hands with his sword and he stepped on her injured foot. The huntress screams filled the air as she fell to the ground in pain, Manchi caught Tenten's wrist and pulled her to her feet forcing her to stand, pins and needles ran up the huntress's leg, she felt her leg go numb. Breathing heavily she tried to block out the pain.

"As I said, you will fall." The huntess widened her eyes as a cloth was put over her nose and mouth. Tenten panicked as she breathed in the drug soaked material, after a minute her entire body went lax.

(X)

The rosette ran faster than she had ever ran before, she felt that the fun form the temple of Artemis was much easier than the chase taking place now. She knew that if she ran away from the huntress that Sasuke would only follow her, she could only hope that Tenten was able to fight off the other horsemen and somehow make it out alive and use the medicine to heal her foot and other wounds. Sakura felt a shudder of guilt run through her body, this is all her fault. Everything that involves her is only causing people who try to help her to get hurt. 'What is so special about me that this crazed prince always needs to be on my heels?!'

Sakura felt her muscles start to ache and she could feel her high of adrenaline begin to decrease as she ran farther away from her guardian. 'I hate running, I hate this situation, and most importantly, I hate Prince Sasuke Uchiha!'

The rosette's eyes widened as she heard a fast approaching sound, 'horse hooves!' Sakura turned her head and she saw the prince and his horse galloping full speed toward her, with one last push, Sakura bolted, she pushed her body to the limit, stretching her legs as far as they could go her arms swinging forward and back trying to give herself more momentum. Each footfall was dangerous, the chances of her injuring her feet were high, the risk intensified.

She once again she tuned around the horse was right on her heels breathing down her neck. 'It's over.'

Once when those words left the priestess's thoughts she felt the ground leave her feet as the prince swung the girl onto his horse pulling her left arm. She shrieked as the pain in her arm reawakened, the prince ignored his wife's yell as he brought her into his lap. Taking the reins and pulling them, Sasuke ordered Mars to turn sharply and stop. The prince tilted his wife's chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. "I have you."

The girl didn't fight him, she knew that it was useless to try to do so, she was afraid again. What was he going to do to her? Is she going to be punished, beaten, starved? She felt the prince's eyes bore into her, "I will find out the truth soon." He said.

The rosette looked up fearfully, 'What? He already knows?'

The prince watched as fear flashed across her face, "The fear in your eyes is proof enough that you are hiding something from me, I will find out one way or another."

The girl stayed silent as the prince took the reins again and lead Mars toward his army again, as the horse walked to the peak Sasuke smiled as he stroked the animal's neck, praising the horse for his hard work.

Sakura was horrified when she passed a horsemen with the huntress draped over the horse like a sack of potatoes. She saw that her friend was not moving and her weapons have been removed. 'I thought she would get away for sure.' The rosette thought.

The prince took both reins into one hand, and he raised his right hand into the air, "Now we can return to the Inn after a difficult hunt. This is a victory for us, let us all celebrate with wine!"

Cheers erupted and echoed through the mountain pass as the soldiers began their joyful march to their reward. The prince once again stared at the girl in his arms, this was a victory indeed.

**This was a ****very****, **_**very**_**, **_**very**_** hard chapter to write.**

**I want to thank the following people for their reviews:**

Pilar Ann, Aya, ArtemisMoon, Mary Mab, Saltire dragon10, heartlessyukiXD, xsugabearx, Chibi Vampyre San, Robbell rider, ulquihime7980, w, hyuugahinata247, XBloodMageRikaX, BleachNaruto2712, Yakame Seika of the Wind, Tantalizing Kunoichi, hateme101, Guest, Book butwerfly2, Ninquelot, Sam, Gaaracrazy, xBluefangXx, The Lard's Fallen Angel, ArnaKittyPet, Liza, KushinaHyugaUzumaki, Tori-bird627, Anime Zebra Starr, Butterfly Editor, Akatsuki's BloodyNekoNinja and Wolf Goddess of Siberia.

**Message for Pilar Ann:** Wow you gave me a lot of questions! Well I am a 10th grader in High School; I have enjoyed writing since I was in middle school. I made a few fics in the past but I deleted them because I didn't like them anymore and I thought they were too cliché. What got me interested in Naruto was when I stole legos from a future friends locker at daycare, all they talked about was Naruto and they had Oc's, I wanted to make an OC too and play with them with the legos so I started watching and reading Naruto. I have an OC whose name is Jenna Uchiha, I know you can roll your eyes, but I have always loved the Uchiha clan.

Here is how I am going to do my reviews, I will from now on, post all who review in one section, and answer select reviews. Your reviews can be anything, they can ask about the story, like: what you thought was confusing, they can be about me, they can be ideas for the story, and they can be critique on my grammar and spelling, **THEY CAN BE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING**! So have fun, and see you next chapter!

I admit this was a hard chapter to write.

**Alright I got a tumbler and I made a bog for this story, the link is on my profile.**

**The password is: Goddess**

**REVIEW! (And post something on the blog.)**


	18. Arc I Chapter 17: Confrontation

**Happy One year Anniversary everyone!**

**Today 01/01/2013 is our one year Anniversary with this Fanfiction, so far this has been an awesome journey. As my new year's resolution I want to finish this story before the second Anniversary, or maybe on the second anniversary. **

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their continued support of this story. It means a lot to receive reviews from old and new readers.**

**This chapter is dedicated to The Lord's Fallen Angel. If she hadn't thought of this story we would be left without our imagination.**

Chapter 17: Confrontation

In the skies Apollo's chariot set over the mountains, taking the sun with him as day turned into night. Small animals like frogs and crickets began to croak and chirp as they found safety in the night, its veil shielding them from their natural predators.

The prince held his prize close to him while on horseback, for him this was a glorious day. He knew that he would not face the wrath of Hera because he failed to capture his wife. No, he knew that when Hera saw the girl in his possession that she would reward him with her blessing of power over Greece.

Deliberately the prince leaned into the girl and breathed in her scent, he closed his eyes, 'She smells divine. It's addicting.' The prince relished in her aroma, 'How is it possible that she could smell this good after being tracked and chased for days?'

Sakura shifted uncomfortably in the saddle, she felt the prince's face on the back of her head. She froze as his freehand shifted to her shoulder undoing the upper straps. As the straps came loose, warm lips met her cold skin, "I will know the truth." He whispered, the prince then retreated and took the reins in both of his hands, in the distance she saw a small village, light shown through the windows of most of the houses in the village. At the bottom of the hill was the Mediterranean, 'Of only we got here sooner we could have escaped into the sea.' She thought, 'then I wouldn't be in this situation.'

As they neared the village the dirt road shifted into stone, the army no longer marched in ridged rows, they all walked causally and they talked amongst themselves as the higher ranking officers and soldiers were at the front on their horses.

Two of the Grecian soldiers carried the roman soldier in a makeshift cot, his leg wrapped haphazardly. The roman groaned in pain as each bump on the road aggravated his wound, "Oh Diana what have I done to deserve this?" He whispered. The roman grabbed his leg, his flesh felt like it was burning and twisting, blood trickled through the material around his wound. The roman had enough, Taka grabbed at the fabric protecting his flesh from the outside world.

"Taka!" A voice yelled, the roman stopped ripping at the fabric but his hand was still wrapped tightly around the wretched thing that bounded his leg, "What do you think you're doing brother! You are to let that heal before taking off that wrap."

The roman soldier hissed, he still felt the burning on his skin, all he wanted was relief and he felt that tearing off the material would do him good, "Manchi, I will do what I want, and I want to take off this damn leg wrap before my leg is set on fire by this pain." The roman soldier tore off the fabric with his left hand.

Manchi expected to see his brother's bleeding wound gushing onto the stone ground, but he could not believe his eyes. Before him he saw his brother's healed leg, the arrow's puncture hole gone. The only thing that remained of the wound was fresh pink skin, "How is that conceivable? You were hurt and now you are healed."

Taka stared at the moon rising over the mountains its light illuminated the path ahead of the army. The roman felt a rush of comfort and safety, "My goddess Diana of the moon had mercy on me." Taka closed his eyes and he rubbed his healed leg.

Manchi almost scoffed, "**YOUR** **GODDESS**? Since when did Diana become your goddess? You praised Venus more than you have ever praised the goddess of the moon and the hunt. I don't even know why Diana is the goddess of the hunt the hunt is for a man and only for a man." Manchi stopped as he stared at his brother's face, "Have you lost your masculinity?"

At this Taka opened his eyes and glared at his brother, "I began to pray to Diana the moment I was wounded by that huntress," Taka pointed to the girl behind his brother on the horse's back, the poor woman was thrown over the horse like a sack of potatoes. "Venus has never helped me in the past, and now Diana helped me by her good graces." The roman looked at the moon again and smiled, "She cares."

"You have lost your mind Taka, thinking that that goddess would have helped you."

"She would have, she healed me." Taka looked at the young huntress on the back of his brother's horse; he felt the sudden need to help the woman who attacked him. 'Diana, what am I feeling?'

The army entered the village and some of them went their separate ways, while others joined the prince at the inn for drinks and wine. Servant girls came bringing large jugs of wine, each jug held the story of a hero, like Jason and the Argonauts or Hercules. The men joyously drowned in their drinks as those girls entertained them with their suggestive dances and poetry.

The prince on the other hand took his prize to his room.

The hallway's dim lights shadowed the girl's face, they testified her defeat, she had been caught and now she knew the prince was going to take her to his bed. At the end of the hall the prince opened the door he looked expectantly at the rosette as he stood aside for her to enter. Sakura bowed her head as she entered the room and she sat in one of the chairs by the curtained window, the sounds of the drunken soldiers could be heard. The prince closed the door and the dim hallway lights disappeared both were left in the darkness.

The prince wanted answers, but he wanted to make her feel comfortable. He walked to the rosette's chair and he opened the curtains that hid the light of the full moon, the prince then sat on the bed and he stared at her, 'I will let her tell me her story before I use 'it'.' He mused. "Why are you silent?"

Sakura was at a loss for words, she thought he would get to the point and take her, when she finally got ahold of her thoughts she mumbled, "I don't know, I'm afraid."

The prince nodded thoughtfully, "You have nothing to fear from me, I will not hurt you."

Sakura knew she could not trust his words, this man has chased her from her home and now she was here, and "What do you want from me, you have chased me for miles. What is so special about me that you would go this far for me?"

The prince rose from his spot on the bed and he approached Sakura, he took both of her hands into his and he kneeled in front of her, "All I want is a wife to care for and cherish for the rest of my life. I want someone to be beside me with every step I take, I chose you because you are special. In the past I have heard whispers about the unique beauty in the temple of Artemis," Sasuke reached for her hair, "How her hair was like the pink rhodon, lovely and innocent."

Sasuke's eyes bore into hers, "Answer me this question, why do you run? And please don't lie to me."

Sakura was silent, her breathing even, she contemplated whether or not to tell him the truth, he would be angry if he knew the truth, he would be angry if she lied. "You won't hurt me?"

The prince shook his head, "No, I promise I will not hurt you, like I said before you have nothing to fear from me. That is if you tell me the truth, there will be consequences if you lie."

Sakura took a deep breath almost unsure, but she decided, "I never wanted to marry, I always thought that if I was a priestess that I would have the freedom to serve my goddess in any way I could. Then you came to the temple and my dream shattered, taken from me right in front of my very eyes." She looked sadly into the prince's eyes her emotions filled those beautiful green orbs, "I was happy that the ceremony that would separate me from my goddess was postponed, I would still have a chance at serving her if you decided that you didn't want me to be your wife anymore, I would still have my purity."

Sasuke watched the girl fight with her words, he felt slightly guilty for taking away what she wanted, but his needs were priority, he would make her happy somehow, 'Maybe some jewels? Chinese silks?'

"After the marriage, we went to Egypt, I was so unhappy and there was nothing to do, and you always gave me some sort of order or job that I needed to get done. I was also lonely, I was almost always by myself and the Egyptian servants kept their distance, that month we were away from Greece, was hell on earth." Sakura stood from her chair and she walked to the other side of the room as she hugged herself, she wanted to be as far from the prince as she could when she told him the next thing, "One night I felt so alone, so hurt that I ran away. I took a stallion from the stables and rode out into the desert that night, at one point the horse and I were so lost that we didn't know where we were, both the horse and I were thirsty and tired. Just when I lost all hope of ever surviving the desert, the stallion found a branch of the Nile River. It was there that I met a man, he had hair as red as blood and bluish green eyes. I suddenly felt compelled to be with him, like a strange force had taken over me, and the banks of the Nile he caressed my skin, kissed my neck and he took what was most precious to me. He penetrated my body, and both of us became one. The thing is," She turned to face the prince, "I wanted him too. I never felt so alive, I never felt so wanted, and for the first time in that miserable place I was not alone."

The rosette was surprised at the prince's calmness, she expected him to burst out, yelling at her telling her how stupid she was, but nothing came. Sasuke nodded, "Continue." He insisted.

"When I woke up by the well, I thought it was all just a dream, running away, the desert, that man, just my night time imagination taking hold of me. When we returned to Greece a month later for the ceremony the animals of Artemis attacked me, at first I didn't realize this until the ceremony and the high priestess said that I made the goddess angry. It was because that "Dream" I had was real." She paused, "Then I ran, I was afraid that you would hurt me, or worse, kill me."

The prince stood from his chair, "Is there anything else you need to tell me, anything important?" He had to make sure that she told him the whole absolute truth, anything left out will be considered a lie. He saw her shake her head while she murmured, "No."

Sasuke turned to look out the window, he gazed at the full bright moon in the sky, "If you hadn't left, the temple wouldn't have burnt to the ground," Sasuke smirked as he pulled on the heart strings of guilt, he knew his wife will feel terrible when he exploited her weaknesses, "And you friends would still be alive."

Sakura froze as her throat tightened, her face in absolute horror, the prince continued, "I pity the little one who died, such a young death, she died at the foot of your goddess naked and ravished, also that blue haired woman. I have to say she was a worthy adversary, but she was not strong enough to defeat me." Tears started to roll down the girl's face, her entire body shook, her hands turned cold. "You shouldn't have run from me, I would have forgiven your impurities and sins and left those two alone." Sakura fell to her knees and she covered her face with her hands as guilt overflowed from her body, she whined in the darkness, "Their deaths could have been avoided, your temple would still be standing, their deaths are on your life, they sacrificed themselves for a coward."

Sakura's breathing increased, her face twisted in emotional agony, while the prince talked all she could see in her mind was the smoke in the distance, Hanbi's smiling face, and Konan's wise eyes staring at her. She couldn't imagine them dead now, she couldn't.

Sasuke stood in the corner watching his wife, in order for his gift to work effectively he needed his victim weakened. His dark eyes bled into red, its black pattern spinning, now all he needed was eye contact. With great stealth the prince stalked his prey he placed his hand on the shoulder he kissed and claimed for himself just an hour ago, his other hand around her chin inching her face toward him, "Shh…" He coaxed her to look at him, reeling her into a false sense of comfort, their eyes met, "Give in Sakura, you're too tried to fight against me."

She stared blankly into his eyes and she saw every moment since she met the prince flash before her eyes, except the man she had given herself to was faceless. 'But I know what he looks like, I know his face…' She thought tiredly. All of the memories repeated over and over again in her head as the prince memorized all of them. Then it all became too much for her, everything went black.

**I promise Gaara will be in the next chapter, I just had to get this scene out there because it holds a lot of importance to the story as a whole and it flowed from the last chapter.**

**I want to thank the following people for their reviews:**

Hateme101, Wolf Goddess of Siberia, The Lord's Fallen Angel, xXBluefangXx, Sam, Mary Mab, artlesspainter, KushinaHyugaUzumaki, ShadowFoxAngel, Nee-han93, Liz, hyuugahinata247, Lunardragon33, Tori-Bird627, and Butterfly Editor.

**Message for Nee-han93:** Yes! Gaara and Sakura will meet again, but it probably won't happen until after Tenten and Sakura reach their destination. You will find out what has happened to Tenten after the Egypt chapters. Everything will fall into place.

**Message for Tori-Bird627: **I haven't thought about bringing in the god Pan before, I might if he could have some significance in the story. But I will keep him in mind!

**REVIEW!**


	19. Arc I Chapter 18:Ascension to the Throne

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I now have an update system, I have decided that I will post the date that the new chapter will be posted at the bottom of each chapter in an author's note with the reviews. Please note that I may be late on some posts due to the school year.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their continued support of this story. It means a lot to receive reviews from old and new readers.**

**This chapter is for Kill everything, he or she reminded me how special this story was.**

Nephthys: Goddess of death, night, and lamentation; the nursing mother of the pharaohs.

The Crook and the Flail: they signify pharaonic dominion over the land of Egypt. Both of farming origin, the crook symbolized that the pharaoh is the shepherd or the carer of the people and flail is the scourge of necessary punishment to maintain order in society. Together, usually held in both hands crossed on the chest, they are the most prominent insignia of the royal regalia of ancient Egypt that symbolizes divine authority.

Chapter 18: Ascension to the Throne

As sands blew swiftly across the yellow and white desserts of Egypt the birds of the nile sanf their morning song praising the rise of the sun. The Nile pulsed with water as the seasonal flood came upon Egypt. New soil will come with this flood, the land will soon be fertile again to support crops. Small insects hummed bringing life and sound to the ever changing waters.

This dessert teemed with life and a mortal god will soon descend upon the great land. Above, the sun drifted in the sapphire sky, light warmed the earth, Ra brought life and warmth.

Below the great golden raft the yellow sands of the desert twisted and turned across the landscape. The former immortal stared longingly at the sand, he no longer felt its friendly pull. The god felt strangely empty on the inside. The redhead glanced at the elder god at the helm of the golden raft, the god, Ra, looked down on the earth, his eyes almost sad.

The great god drew a large breath, "I have watched this land for thousands of years, I have seen it rise into glory and wither. It is a constant cycle. This land has been in prosperity for a long time, I can only hope that this prosperity will continue."

Ra turned to face the mortal god, "I know you have your doubts, but I believe you will be able to protect this land should the time come." His kind eyes diverted from Gaara and back to the Earth below. The god had a few reservations about his choice, but he had full confidence that the god will be able to handle the theocracy of Egypt. And he was right; Horus has been acting strangely as of late. He felt a disturbance in the destiny of Egypt, darkness was coming, but from where? This disruption haunted the god, something was stirring.

"I'm still not sure if I will be able to handle this. For a thousand years I have been jealous of Horus, and now…" Gaara's voice trailed. He was still in disbelief, all of this had happened to him in a matter of hours. In the past Gaara had been jealous of Horus, Horus did receive more attention from the higher gods. Maybe that is what caused his continuous rage, in order for him to be recognized by anyone he had to do something monstrous, something that **would** grab the attention of all of the gods.

Gaara had mixed feelings about becoming Pharaoh, never has ever had a responsibility and now a position like Pharaoh was shoved into his face. Granted he felt honored, and had a sense of gratification. Seeing Horus's face twisting from smugness to that of disbelief was like drinking sweet wine to him. 'An entire civilization all in my rule…'

Ra's fiery golden eyes met Gaara's, "Do not envy the wicked, they plot violence and talk of trouble for any man, woman, or child." Ra raised his arm and gestured to the earth below, drawing the mortal god's attention to the capital city below, nestled by the Nile. "When a country is in chaos it has many rulers, but a man of knowledge and compassion will maintain order."

The elder gold then placed his hand on the redhead's forehead where the first red circle was drawn earlier that day, "You have knowledge far greater than any mortal man on earth, you have lived and discovered."

Ra then removed his hand from Gaara's head and placed it on the mortal god's chest, "You have compassion and a fire within you one that I know you will use to protect your people." Gaara's eyes widened in realization, "Yes Gaara, your people, they are your people, **you** must protect them and guild them.

The elder god removed his hand from the redhead and turned away from him, Gaara glanced at the other circle, "What about this one, the other circle."

Ra closed his eyes and breathed, "Life. It was where the bond between mother and child as the child grows within her womb. Life is precious, a delicate thing and something that can be taken away…so easily."

Gaara placed his hand on his stomach on top of his navel, his mind briefly flashed to the face of his mother. Even though the goddess was associated with death and the darkness, his mother loved him until she disappeared for half a millennium. It was then that he felt a void in his life, when he started to fall into solitude. This void made him feel empty, he felt abandoned, and he grew bitter and angry. Somehow Gaara followed his father's footsteps of death and destruction. His father was an angry individual; he held a warlike personality and never thought once about the life of a god or the mortal life of a human. So much of his father haunted the young god, every time Gaara would look into the mirror he would see his father's red hair and his eyes. Gaara hated it he hated looking so much like his father, the god that people feared and despised.

"We are nearing the highest point, soon you will join your people." The elder god took Gaara's hand and brought him to the edge of the golden raft, the great city of Heliopolis stood below them in wait of its new God-King.

Light circled around the elder god, drawing upon his energy he began a performance of glory and magnificence. Light danced as Ra harnessed its power; golden stairs emanated into existence from the raft to the lands below. "It is time for you to go, young Pharaoh. I give you one gift before you go…"

Gaara watched as Ra closed his eyes as the light around him intensified. The elder god focused as half of the light left him and moved to the center of the sun raft. Light twisted and turned condensing into one form. The form grew four long slender legs morphing into a stallion of light. As the light faded the horse's bright golden coat remained as its mane and tail darkened to a midnight black. A golden sun disk crown adorned the horse's head along with a white saddle and other golden accessories on the legs, tail and neck. The stallion roared into life as his heart began to pump life throughout his body. He reared giving a panicked neigh, mane and tail blowing majestically in the wind.

Instinctively Gaara approached the horse; having dealt with so many wild animal he had no fear. The mortal god raised his hands to the horse immediately making eye contact with the spirited animal. The stallion's eyes widened, he calmed and stared at the redheaded man in front of him. Gaara gently stroked the animal's neck all the while getting closer and closer to the unsettled stallion. He took the horse into his arms embracing its neck, "Askari." He whispered.

The mortal god stepped away from the animal as the fiery horse looked at him in confusion, "Askari," He said again holding out his hand, "That is the name I give you."

Tilting his head Askari walked hesitantly to the god sniffing the outstretched palm of his hand, closing his eyes Askari memorized the smell of this man. The horse relaxed as the scent of lavender filled his muzzle, opening his eyes he looked at the other god standing behind the redhead. His creator, the stallion felt a small connection to the elder god, but the bond with this redhead was stronger. Askari realized that he was created for this man, this man was his to take care of and watch over. His person.

Ra stepped toward the two placing his hand on the muzzle of Askari and another hand on Gaara. "It is time to go Gaara, this is where we part."

The mortal god nodded, glancing at the golden stairs leading to his future kingdom, "How will they know that I am their Pharaoh?"

"They will know. Ride down to your kingdom Gaara, and protect it."

The Pharaoh of Egypt took ahold of the horse's reins and mounted Askari, "Thank you."

The elder god gave a full hearted laugh, "Now here's your final test Gaara." Ra raised his hand and slapped the stallion's hind quarters. Askari reared yelling his discomfort, Gaara held on for dear life as the Stallion jumped over the ledge of the raft on to the golden stairs.

Ra leaned over the raft watching the two figures descend onto the city of Heliopolis, he called, "Don't fall!"

Descending the golden stairs was like nothing the mortal god had ever experienced. His sand was fast, but plugging to the surface from the sky was an entirely different story. The speed the stallion galloped astonished him to no end as they got closer and closer to the ground. Light gleamed and danced around them as they neared the city. Looking back, Gaara saw the raft slowly fade and morph into the round yellow disk every mortal saw in the sky.

"Damn it Ra, I'd much prefer to go through one of your lectures than experience this!"

Wind rushed past them, as they gained speed, Askari and Gaara got warmer and warmer as the light around them intensified. Gaara squinted, glancing at the city below, he was close enough to make out the shapes of buildings and people. He saw their arms raised, pointing at him.

Above in the Sun raft Ra watched the young Pharaoh come upon the city, he laughed when he heard Gaara's "Preferences." Shaking his head he said under his breath, "Duly noted young one, duly noted."

(X)

The high priest of Heliopolis sat in prayer in the temple of Ra, he was by far the oldest man in the city. His eye brows were long and white shading both of his eyes from the light. He had spent his entire life worshiping the Sun God Ra just has his grandfather before him, he was old and tired, yet he still found time to direct and keep balance and Harmony in the temple.

Breathing he whispered, "Time is really flowing by…" The night before he had a vision of a god falling from the sky engulfed in light and he bore the crowns of upper and lower Egypt. He had seen the fall of one dynasty, and he hoped to see the rise of a new strong kingdom.

Suddenly a young priest entered the inner sanctuary of Ra clearly out of breath, "High priest Ebizo, come quick!"

Despite his old age, the elder priest jumped to his feet and hobbled after the younger one. They exited the main temple of the sun and watched as a golden light streaked across the sky, his eye brows raised, it was coming toward the temple!

The high priest entered the temple again and grabbed his outer robes and leopard furs and covered his bald head with a white cloth head covering. Taking his golden staff he exited the temple again, the light was getting closer.

"Suname!"

The younger priest came to Ebizo, "Yes, high priest!"

"Prepare the temple for the arrival of the Pharaoh." He had wondered when the vision would occur; he didn't think that the Pharaoh would come so soon. If he did he would have prepared for his arrival had a ceremony already in order. 'I must be getting old.'

Confused the younger priest responded to his elder, "The Pharaoh sir?"

"For the sake of all the gods above, what in the underworld do you think that light is?"

Suname's eyes widened, he couldn't believe it, in all of his life he had never seen such an incident happen, nor has he seen any records of gods falling form the sky becoming Pharaoh!

Impatient the elder priest yelled at Suname, "For Ra's sake, hurry up boy, we have no time to waste. A ceremony is in order. Gather all of the priests and prepare for it! I will meet him along with the other elder priests. Now go!"

The young man rushed into the temple yelling the orders he received.

Ebizo waited as the light got closer to the temple, under his eyebrows he squinted, was that a horse? The elder priests joined him.

Soon the light had come upon the temple of Ra, people gathered beneath the great temple, they crowded in great numbers at the base of the stairs. Below whispering could be heard, "A sign from the gods!" "What so the gods bless us with?" "Who is this man, is he a god?"

The light slowed as a man crowned with the red and white crown of upper and lower Egypt upon a gold and black horse crowned with the sun disk of Ra came upon the temple. The golden stallion landed on the smooth stone of the temple's gardens and trotted to the elder priest.

The priest looked at the young man who sat on the back of the stallion in wonder, 'The gods have sent us a gift, a gift that is beyond us mortals. Red hair like blood and fire, He yelled, his feeble voice barely reaching the crowds below, "He is a god!"

The people below cheered as the redhead remained silent, he dismounted his horse gold light still decorated his body. The elderly priest fell to his knees along with the other elders they bowed to the young god and the crowds below followed.

The redhead stared at the people bowing; he was not used to his king of positive attention and praise. 'These people…' They had just seen him fall from the sky and they quickly declare he is a god. Well he was a god, but he expected more of a struggle for these people to believe it. Watching the people around him bow felt weird and awkward for him, they still had not risen from their spot on the ground. So he did the only thing he thought he could do, he placed his hand on the shoulder of the elderly priest, "Rise."

Ebizo glanced up at the god, this gift from Ra, this son of magnificence. 'He asked me to rise, but I don't feel like it's my place to stand with a being like him.' Slowly Abizo raised as commanded, the god's hand still rested on his shoulder.

The other priests rose along with the crowd below and they watched the god and high priest in apprehension. The younger priests entered the gardens bearing incense and other ritualistic items. They came upon the god and elder priests and they wondered who exactly this god was.

The royal guard and nobles along with the vizier of Egypt came upon the garden all eyes on the redhead whose head bore Egypt's most precious crowns. Most of the nobles were in a state of shock, many have plotted to take over the throne by force and influence over the royal guard, but if this was a god he was not to be trifled with. New plans started to bloom within their minds, plans that would earn them power and influence.

The elder high priest walked with purpose to the priests and took the necessary scrolls and materials for the coronation of a Pharaoh. The people watched as the priest blessed the god and willed him a long solid dynasty. The younger priests held incense and circled around the god, chanting many spells to protect the pharaoh and king of Egypt and to protect Egypt from harm and bless the mighty civilization with productive crops and bountiful animals.

Egypt would be in glory, Egypt would rule forever as it has for the past thousands of years. In time the young Pharaoh would have to protect his kingdom from evils and invasions and Gaara could only hope that that would not happen anytime soon.

**And that's the end of another chapter of ****Virgin Blood****! I apologize for updating later again, school and life have been getting busy and I now have spring break coming up as well so I might get some writing done.**

**Next Update: March 14, 2013.**

**Message for ****Wolf Goddess of Siberia****: **Sasuke is not Roman, he is currently the prince of Northern Greece. I think you might have gotten him confused with his two hired roman soldiers. Yes, in the future Apollo will help Artemis (Diana in Rome) He will make his appearance.

**Message for**** LibertyForFreedom455**: Soon as in next chapter. Yes, Gaara and Sakura are going to meet each other next chapter, though probably not in the way you think.

**Thanks to the following people who reviewed:**

Pipra, Hoxopasnei, Hush. Hush. My. Fallen. Saakura, Nee-han93, Guest, Kor Anders, aya, Mary Mab, Tantalizing Kunoichi, ulquihime7980, Wolf Goddess of Siberia, hyuugahinata247, ArnaKittyPet, xsugabearx, Yakame Seika of the Wind, Habit, The Lord's Fallen Angel, hateme101, SmexyGenius, Gaaracrazy, LibertyForFreedom455, and KushinaHyugaUzumaki.

**Review**


	20. Arc I Chapter 19: Revelations

**Hey everyone, here I am with another chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, Virgin Blood. I now have an update system, I have decided that I will post the date that the new chapter will be posted at the bottom of each chapter in an author's note with the reviews. Please note that I may be late on some posts due to the school year.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their continued support of this story. It means a lot to receive reviews from old and new readers.**

Chapter 19: Revelations

In Greece a storm raged over the land, dark clouds covered the sky as Zeus shot the earth with lightning bolt after lightning bolt. The sky flashed igniting the clouds briefly then going dark again. Water poured down the mountains the rocky soil unable to take it all in, overwhelmed small pockets of mud and rock slid down the mountainsides. The worst storm Greece has seen by far. Winds howled breaking off branches from the trees, uprooting the vegetation and scaring away all of the wildlife.

On top of Olympus a goddess watched the storm sadly, her white hair reflecting all the colors of the rainbow. Pursing her lips she winced, the goddess rubbed her head her eyes squinting closed. She hissed in pain, the second migraine she had this morning. It was all sudden her head began to hurt in the middle of the night as the storm made its way into the country. At times unbearable pain passed over her body.

Breathing deeply the goddess rose from her perch overlooking the mortal world, dark circles around her eyes, her energy fading. Clutching onto the nearest rail she began walking to her chambers in the enormous palace that stood tall on the mountain. Her legs shook, another migraine overlook her again, this time an image came to her.

This power is demanding. It constantly scratched at her mind, a mortal had no power to do this, yet…

Falling to the ground the goddess grabbed her aching head moaning in pain. Her eyes closed again and her body relaxed. A mortal was in deep pain, both physical and mental pain. A wave of the mortal's suffering washed over the goddess, her skin became icy and cold. Pink hair draped the mortal's face, a girl, no a woman. A muffled voice echoed within the goddess's mind, she couldn't understand her.

"Speak up, I'm here." The goddess called to the girl the mindscape becoming clearer the woman's visage more pristine but her brokenness did not improve dare she say it was worst the closer she got to the female.

Once again the goddess heard nothing but mumbles and cries of sorrow and hurt. Seeing the girl's broken figure the goddess's heart broke. Never has she ever been beckoned to a mortal in despair. She called again hoping the woman would reply.

"You're safe, tell me what pains you."

The image cleared as the mortal woman raised her head slowly sad green emerald eyes met empathetic white ones. The goddess reached out the woman hoping to comfort her in some way, but she found that the woman's mind pushed her away. The rosette looked tragic. The goddess yelled in desperation.

"What do you need?"

The pink haired woman flinched then gazed deeply into the goddess's eyes, she hurts. Her mind feels empty yet it feels so full at the same time. She's confused, she's sacred. She wanted the darkness gone, she wanted freedom, and she wants her life back. She wanted the normality she had just three months ago just a servant of Artemis in her temple, but needed the extraordinary, the freedom to run away deep into the desert and never return to the normalcy of everyday life. Unconsciously she longs for the man who lead her.

"Him." She whispers. "Him."

The goddess looked at the girl in confusion, "Who? Who do you need?"

No longer being pushed away the goddess forged forward through the last of the barriers and keened in front of the shaking girl taking her shoulders into her hands. She lifted the woman's head staring into her teary emerald eyes.

"Him." The girl repeated again. The mindscape began to shift, sands blew in the wind passing over the long grasses by a great vast river, palms shading its waters. Day turned to night as fireflies drifted in the air.

"I need a name! A person!"

The woman's sorrow in her eyes eased, her panicked expression fell and slowly her arm rose from her side. Arm completely parallel to the ground she pointed. "Gaara."

The goddess's eyes narrowed her lips slightly apart. She had never heard of the name Gaara before and she couldn't recall of any person in Greece being called by such a name. The goddess peeled her eyes away from the rosette finally realizing the scene change from a vast emptiness to a dessert of great beauty. The goddess's hands brushed against the grass that surrounded them, the blades smooth and a brownish green. "This is a memory…"

The eyes of the goddess followed the woman's arm all the way to the finger pointed to someone in the distance. There a man stood, his hair as red as freshly spilt blood, quickly the goddess realized that this man was not mortal. This person, this god, dressed clearly in the garb of an Egyptian royal. She looked closer at this god and the pieces began to come together.

The goddess glanced at the abdomen of the woman then to her eyes staring longingly at the god. This wasn't good. This woman was with child with a deity, not just any deity, but an Egyptian one. The offspring had the godlike characteristics of its father, as it grew the divine qualities of an Egyptian deity grew the more the child would become pained. The growing child is calling out to its father, but Egypt is too far away and the barrier between the two cultures blocked the half god's cries for help.

The child is dying.

The longer it stayed in Greece and the more it grows the more pain it will feel, the barrier Zeus and Ra made would destroy the child the moment it was born on Grecian soil.

The goddess looked at the god again memorizing his features, "I need to get to him, no matter the consequences."

The goddess took the girl into her arms and whispered in her ear to the child and the mother, "He will come." She kissed the woman's head lightly almost like a mother kissing her child goodnight and promising the monsters would not come in the middle of the night to attack.

The goddess rose and watched the mindscape fade away as she returned to the real world. The storm still raged through Greece and the lightning brighter than before. The goddess was determined. The only power that could pass the barrier was the power that created it. The goddess watched the sky fill with another flash of light, and she would be ready for the next flash.

Time almost slowed as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as static electricity filled the air. The lightning bolt had been thrown and the goddess flung herself into the air at the speed of light. Bulleting to the bolt she created the most vibrant rainbow any mortal could gaze upon.

Grabbing the lightning bolt she used its momentum to drive her across the land and to the Mediterranean. Her hands burned like fire, only Zeus could touch his lightning bolts and not ruin his hands or boy. Something as uncontrollable as Zeus's lightning should not be handed by another deity but the goddess took the chance anyway.

The goddess came upon the barrier and she braced for impact, the wall shattered as the bolt passed through.

This goddess had a message to deliver.

"I am Iris and I'll be damned if I can't deliver the cries of an unborn child."

(X)

Gaara sat on the throne of Egypt as the last of the tributaries from the barbarous tribes of the south offered the Pharaoh gifts of gold, leopards and other exotic animals that couldn't be found in Egypt. They came every other month bringing spices and other riches the upper class of Egypt enjoyed to have in their possession. Gaara watched the leopard claw at its cage hissing and attacking any person who passed its container. Caged, Gaara hated the word and it was exactly how he felt.

A month and a half has passed since he had fallen from the sky and become Pharaoh of Egypt, constantly he had to attend ceremonies and conduct them himself. One ceremony: greeting the rising Sun who he knew as Ra and the other saying goodbye to Ra as he descended into the underworld and wish him a good rebirth for the next day. Those were the two most important ceremonies he had to perform to ensure the rise and wellbeing of the sun.

Gaara waved away the tributary thanking him for his travels and gifts to the royal court, the tributaries bowed deeply to the Pharaoh, every few months they had to do this in order for their tribes to remain free and not be forced into slavery.

Gaara rose from his throne and two men with fans cooling him readied to move with their god-king. He held up his hand signaling for them not to follow, the two men bowed their heads and left the room having been dismissed. His eyes swept over the other people in his court and he eyed the nobles in particular, they were not looking at him but to the throne sitting next to his. He knew what each and every one of them was thinking, 'How can I get my daughter on that throne next to the most powerful man in Egypt?'

That stare that question lingered in the air since the day he took the throne.

Already he commissioned for a statue of himself and a temple to be built in his honor, it was the first thing a pharaoh did once on the throne. The semi-chaos the former pharaoh left behind was quickly taken care of by Gaara, no longer was the royal court in danger of a Coup d'état.

Gaara was silent as he took his leave and the nobles bowed as he passed them, their eyes following his retreating figure as their heads rose. One man in particular smirked at the pharaoh's retreating figure. He had been keeping tabs on the pharaoh, where he went when tired, how he reacted to different situations and today his daughter would approach him with his favorite wine and bread, both the flour and the alcohol imported from Greece. The man noticed that he preferred a lot of things from that foreign country, he found it odd, but he had to use it to his advantage.

Two guards followed the god-king as he made his way to the pool by the Nile, every day the pool would be cleaned of any dirt that fell onto the bottom and any fish or animal that drifted into the vicinity. The pool had to be safe for the pharaoh to take his swim or at least stand in the Nile's water staring at noting in particular. He was a man of habit, if every night he stood in the Nile River as an immortal god then he shall do so as a mortal.

Taking off his sandals he left them for a servant to take care of, he descended down three steps into the water; today he would stand and think. Feeling the cool water upon his legs comforted him, immediately the mortal god relaxed.

His solitary moment soon came to an end as a servant announced the arrival of a guest who brought gifts, a woman guest of one of the higher ranked noble families.

"Is it really necessary for this visitor to interrupt my time?" He already knew what was going to happen, this girl would try to obtain his attention. He wasn't sure if he could stand another ploy for his attention and his empty throne at his side. But deciding that he would not be rude to the poor girl that was probably forced into this by her father he would allow her to come to him.

"Send her in and tell her to sit there." Gaara pointed to a slab of stone by the water's edge, there she would sit and do her father's bidding while he would politely listen but ignore her all the same. Gaara watched as a pink petal drifted past him, carefully he lifted the flower from its watery ride drifting on the Nile. The color reminded him of the woman who he saw only two months ago by one of the banks of this very river. Its water used to offer solitude for him but since he met the unique beauty form Greece on its banks, his solitude shared the memory of the woman who broke his solitude and loneliness.

"Hello Lord Gaara."

The Pharaoh turned as he saw a girl with brown hair and black eyes enter his domain of solitude and thoughts. The girl bowed her head; the red head noticed that the servant at her side, who also was bowing, carried a basket. Her voice soft as imported Chinese silk she spoke again, "I'm sorry for the intrusion but I thought I would share some of my imports from the north."

She sat where Gaara's servant told her to sit and gestured for her servant to open the basket and reveal the gift. His eyes widened immediately recognizing the burnt seal on the animal skin wine pouch, wine from Greece. His eyes narrowed, 'one of these nobles is very observant.'

Gaara waded through the water toward the girl pouring him a cup of wine and pulling of a piece of bread for him. Any other pharaoh would have found this insulting, but Gaara was not the normal kind of pharaoh.

"What was your name, I do not recall it."

The girl in blue dyed robes smiled, "My name is Matsuri, my lord Gaara."

"I have to say that is an interesting name, it is not common here." Gaara took the piece of bread offered to him and took a bite from it, 'Grecian flour.'

Matsuri grabbed the silver cup and gave it to Gaara who took it muttering a, 'Thank you.'

The two were held in a state of awkward silence, and both the girl and the pharaoh drank from their cups and glanced away from each other.

Matsuri who was determined to be Queen of Egypt broke the silence first, "I am glad that the floods will return soon, especially now that you are preparing for the ceremony. This year's crops are sure to be the best."

Gaara nodded politely, "Though it is the gods' decision to bring the floods, I can only try to convince them."

Matsuri smiled, finally they were starting to carry a conversation, "But aren't you favored by the gods, you are a god yourself."

Gaara almost never talked about being a god to any mortal, the only person he talked to about the underworld and the other deities was Ebizo who the god took to in a matter of seconds. "One can be favored by the gods, yet not all of the gods could favor one."

"What do you mean? I mean if they sent you down here then all of them should like you in some way."

"The gods are fickle just like mortal humans, and we often fight and try to tolerate each other." Gaara looked at the flower in his hands rolling the stem.

Matsuri eyed the flower, the pharaoh eyed that flower like it was the love of his life, and "You have a lover? A goddess lover?" The last thing Matsuri wanted was to get in the way of a god and his immortal powerful love; it would be the death of her.

"No not a goddess, she is very mortal, very human." He said still distracted by the flower.

Matsuri bit her cheek if he was already taken then it was not good for her or her father, "Oh, is she here in Heliopolis?" She asked the question like someone would ask or talk about the weather.

"No, she is far away and already bound to another." Gaara poured himself another cup of wine and he climbed the steps out of the water to join her on the slab of smooth sandstone.

Inwardly smiling, she replied, "So she is a slave?"

Anger flashed through his eyes, "She is not a slave! And you have no right to call her such Matsuri!" Where in the entire underworld did she get slave from being bound to another man? The girl almost sickened him.

Matsuri bowed her head instantly, "I'm sorry my lord Gaara, I spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, it was a misunderstanding on my part."

Gaara stood form the slab leaving the girl in silence, how dare she call Sakura a slave, she is a woman of high spirit a woman who never settled for…for what? How well did he know her? He had only been with her for one night, but he had that feeling that she was someone more than what met the eye. He was defending a woman who was already gone, a beauty that sailed away from Egypt and was sure to never return again.

Looking at the flower in his hands he felt his mortal heart fall, it hurt to love someone impossible. Returning to the water he placed the flower on the bottom step just inches away from the water. He stared at it, contemplating his thoughts. Was he ready to move on from that unique beauty, the once in a life time piece of living perfection? He was undecided.

His back still turned to Matsuri he spoke, "I will forgive you this one time Matsuri, now please leave."

Matsuri sat in silence, the order now fully sinking in, she was not happy, she was sure that she was getting close to the god-king. But at least she accomplished one thing, putting herself in his thoughts. He will think about what she said, gauging by how contemplative he was, this was a good sign. She had planted a seed of doubt in him. Standing from the slab she bowed as her servant collected the basket and light snack. Both left as swiftly they came in.

A priest approached the pharaoh while he was in thought, "My lord pharaoh, you must get prepared for the ceremony of the flood. Akhet needs to be welcomed."

Akhet was the season the Nile flooded bringing new soil and water for animals and future crops. Nodding Gaara left the flower on the steps of the pool. He had a flood to call upon.

(X)

After the ceremony Gaara returned to his chambers that night, the redhead wasn't one for ceremonies he found them quite annoying, but he knew they were necessary to please the gods. The god-king collapsed on his bed, it was incredibly warm and he knew that tonight he would be sleeping without a blanket. He reached for the cup of water standing on the wicker side table by his bed and drank it, gulping down the needed refreshment. Today had been a long day, he had been busy like always, but that flower still hung in the back of his head.

Having already wished Ra a good passing into the underworld Gaara could relax for a little while. Ruling an entire empire took a lot out of him, the first week he was pharaoh he felt like he was going to die and return to the underworld with his immortality back.

Just as he was about to relax and fall into a deep slumber something interrupted him. Rising from his bed he glided to the room next to his bed chamber, his bath chamber. It appeared that the servants failed to drain the water from his bath. He would have to talk to the vizier about that tomorrow. Hearing another sound he looked around the room again until he realized that the sound _came_ from his bath.

Glancing into the water he saw an image he had never seen before, stepping back he watched the figure rise from his bath water rainbows reflecting off of her white dress, skin, and hair.

"Who are you and what are you doing in Egypt?"

"I apologize for the intrusion, I am Iris, I hail from Greece, and I bring a message to you and to you alone." The goddess was still floating above the water it was the only safe place for her to stay. If she were to stand on the land then she would be breaking the treaty between Zeus and Ra even more. Water was somewhat neutral, and she would not be detected easily.

"You are breaking the treaty goddess of Greece, this will be seen as an act of war against the deities of Egypt. You should leave and never return. I will speak of this to no one if you do so promptly." Gaara narrowed his eyes, it should have been impossible for her to pass the barrier in the first place.

"Please, you are Gaara? Are you not?" The goddess was begging.

"I am Gaara, Pharaoh of Egypt, the morning and evening star. Now state your business and leave." Gaara watched goddess closely; he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Do you remember a woman with pink hair?" Quickly the goddess formed an image of the woman in a haze of light mist, she let it float in the air, and the sad emerald eyes struck Gaara the most.

Questions immediately filled his head but now he still knew she was alive, "Yes, she is Sakura Uchiha."

"You have spent a night with her, and she is in pain, you must speak to her."

"How can I speak to her when she is miles away, across the Mediterranean!" Gaara strides to the goddess, "It's not like I can hop over and see her none of the less speak to her!"

"I have something that can help, but it will only work for one night, and for one night only." The goddess reached into her dress and pulled out a vile of blue and gold liquid holding it in the air. "This will connect you to her the moment you drink it." The goddess placed the bottle gently on the edge of the bath and waited for Gaara to take it.

Gaara stared at the bottle wondering if it was a poison of some sort. He didn't trust it.

The goddess began to float back into the water, "Please trust me she needs you right now. I must go before it is discovered that I am gone. I have risked a lot to come to you on her behalf, she is in danger."

And with that the goddess fell into the water and dissipated, her reflection gone.

Gaara still eyed the blue vial, he didn't trust it, but he felt compelled to drink it, to take a chance to see her again. He took the bottle into his hands and held it up to his eyes. If this was a trap, he was a very gullible person. If this was truth, he would forever be grateful to the goddess who gave this to him.

Pulling the stopper from the vial he smelled the blue liquid, it smelt foreign alright, but it was warming, comforting. Some unknown force drove him to drink the liquid, and with all of his mortal beating heart he hoped it was not a poison or anything that would kill him. He brought the vial to his lips and drank the unknown substance quickly falling into a deep slumber.

(X)

Gaara was immediately met by darkness, "Great I killed myself." Grimly her thought, 'I never should have trusted that goddess." Gaara wandered in the darkness but the darkness faded into the desert at night, he was by the river, it looked strangely familiar.

Green grasses everywhere, palm trees swaying in the smooth air, small flowers growing by the water's rich soil edge. Crickets and other bugs chirped in the marshes calling to each other wanting to know where the other was. Small lightning bugs drifted in the air. This was the place, Gaara turned around looking for any sight of the pink haired woman, and this was the place they met.

There! She saw her standing in the water, water up to her knees. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was in thought, deep thought. He slowly walked toward her, it was like a dream, a dream he had had every night. Those dreams had been wishes to see her again, but now, if the goddess really was telling the truth, then this really was her.

Mesmerized by the thought of this woman waiting in the water to be Sakura, he made his first steps in the water gradually getting deeper and deeper until he stood just behind her. He placed his hand lightly on her shoulder, she flinched then relaxed. He desired to face her, to see her resolute, unwavering, emerald eyes staring at him, to see the woman who has so much ahead of her, the woman with desire to do what she wishes. He waited for her to make the first move of looking at him, softly he called, "Sakura."

Once again her body flinched, what has happened to her to make her so jumpy?

He said her name again, gingerly, "Sakura, what has happened?"

The rosette crossed her arms across her chest almost as if she were cold and trying to support herself from falling, she lifted her head and slowly turned it to look at him, her broken eyes met his, her voice cracked as she tried to speak, "Is it really you?"

The patheticness in her voice broke his heart, she should have never reached this level brokenness. Her face alone spoke volumes of what she had been through, and he had a feeling that he was the root of all of her suffering, but what caused her to be in such danger that she needed to see him that she called upon a goddess to do the impossible?

Her once proud eyes drooped sadly, they were distant yet she could still see him in the foreground and her lips blue and cracked horribly. "Yes, yes it is me, it is really me." Gaara turned her around to face him and he brought his other hand to her bare shoulder.

Her face twisted as she stared at him her eyes squinting as water gathered in her eyes, "If it's really you take away the pain, it hurts, it hurts so much."

Gaara was at a loss of what to do, but he swiftly took her into his arms, wrapping her around him trying to protect her from what was troubling her. He rubbed her back as he rested his chin on top of her head rocking her back and forward letting the tears fall onto his uncovered chest. He hummed lightly trying to comfort her, lulling her into security and relaxation, he wanted to try to take away that pain that hurt her.

"You're probably something I imagined in here, like that woman with white hair who promised to bring you to me." She curled her fingers into light fists believing that she was crazy.

Gaara crushed that thought hastily, "No, no, no, no, she was real, and I am real. She brought me to you and I am here. If she never came to me then I would not be here."

"You can't exist…" she mumbled. "I couldn't see your face in my memory, you could be anyone."

"You remember, I am Gaara, I exist. And this," Gaara gestured to the scene around them, to the palm trees and tall grasses to the floating lightning bugs in the air, "You remember just as I remember that night. Please just believe that I am me."

Sakura shook her head, "I couldn't see you, I couldn't see you in my memory."

"What has happened to you that you have lost your spirit? What has happened to you that you have changed? You sound like you are going mad, a goddess gave me a blue vial to see you, she said you are in danger. All I can see now is that you're in danger of hurting yourself." Looking into her eyes again he demanded her attention, "Who is causing you to do this to yourself."

Her eyes broke away from his, then the mindscape changed once again, scenes of Sasuke's pursuit, his army, guards, his capture of her ran past the redhead who quickly took the memories into his own. What he saw enraged him, but what drew him over the edge was the interrogation the man put her through. This was not how a husband of any wife should act! He watched as the brave unwavering woman break under the raven headed man's hand.

"Look at me Sakura," He watched as she slowly peeked up at him, "You need to remember who you are, you are proud and you have an undying spirit, if you let him break you, you will never be yourself again. You need to get away from him." He paused.

"I know you think I am just an illusion, but even so, take my advice. Run away from him, leave him as fast as you can. Come to Egypt again and I will protect you with everything I have. He will destroy you, please Sakura just regain your courage and will to fight and survive." He took her into his arms embracing her as tightly as he could.

"I can't stand the thought of losing you to a person like him, you have so much going for you, so much to do. Don't let him hold you down. Continue to run. Please Sakura, I'm begging you, regain your will to fight, fight with all of your heart and soul to get away." One tear slid down his cheek as he brought her head up for her to face him, "Let me just see it in your eyes that you will fight on, please Sakura, please."

Sakura's eyes still held an ounce of emptiness, but as soon as Gaara's words sank in he saw the confidence rekindle in her eyes and small smile forming around her mouth.

She had found herself once more.

The rosette had found her self-confidence and she ran in to Gaara's arms, crying once again. But these weren't tears of sadness; these were tears of newfound hope and joy. Even though she might think that the Gaara embracing her right now was just and illusion, she believed that somehow he was her motivation, he made her fight for what she wanted and he constantly reminded her.

Gaara enfolded Sakura in his arms, happy she had found her confidence once again. Then he feels a pull, he has to tell her. "Sakura, love, I have to go, Egypt is calling me."

"Thank you." She whispered to him, "Thank you."

Gaara was glad that she was herself again and just as he looked away from her his eyes met a figure standing on the banks of the river they were currently in. It was a boy, a boy with red hair and wide golden eyes.

The pharaoh's eyes broadened, he understood now: She was with child, his child.

**And that's the end of another chapter of ****Virgin Blood****! This is one of the longest chapter I have ever written for this story, I am quite proud. **

**I want to let you all know that I have a ****Poll**** set up on my profile the question is:**

**Which pairing would you like for me to write next?**

**As of right now GaaSaku is in the lead with 6 votes and ItaSaku is trailing with 4 votes. Get voting!**

**Next Update:April 4, 2013.**

**Review!**


	21. Arc I Chapter 20: Heroes and Pawns

**Hello April Fools. Ha! I tricked you all into thinking I was going to update on the fourth, boy were you wrong.**

**Now instead of getting angry and up in arms at me and saying, "Itachi's Rose how could you do this to us?" That answer is simple, "Because I can, and I will. (On special occasions.)"**

**Now that I have had my fun with you all…**

**Here's another Chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, ****Virgin Blood.**** As usual the next update date will be posted on the bottom of the chapter. Please note that I may be late, (Or early in this case) with said updates due to the school year.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their support of this story, especially my golden ones!**

Chapter 20: Heroes and Pawns

As the dream Nile faded form her view Sakura drifted back into consciousness she silently thought of the Gaara that gave her the motivation to fight on. When she saw his worried eyes stare down at her she instantly felt his concern, when he held her his compassion and urgency flowed from him to her. Never before had she felt that kind of feeling form anyone. Sasuke never gave her that feeling.

She shivered. That prince of Greece scared her. Who would have thought that a man from the honorable Uchiha clan would be so cruel and dark? She had heard many legends of the heroes the Uchiha produced, Uchiha Madara being one of them.

A man of tradition, Madara had to accept the marriage of a noble man's daughter, a political move made by the Uzumaki of the West. The marriage proposal between Madara Uchiha and Mito Uzumaki was to symbolize peace between the two powers, but tragedy struck. Mito died the night before the wedding, a note left behind from her:

_My Lord Uchiha,_

_I apologize greatly; my love for another is too strong. I cannot marry you for I believe I could never learn how to love you._

_Mito Uzumaki_

At this time the Uchiha and the Senju were great friends and would often visit each other's lands and homes in their small empires. As Madara approached the casket he couldn't help but notice that his friend cried very sorrowfully, more so than Mito's own father, Hashirama grieved the woman like a close husband to his wife.

The pieces all came together, his best friend fell in love with his arranged wife, Madara did not feel anger, and instead he left the funeral never paying his respects to the dead body. Returning to his home he gathered everything he needed for the long journey to the underworld he brought only one warrior with him, his brother Izuna.

The two brothers successfully made it to the land shrouded in shadows: Hades. Both were horrified as they met many gruesome tasks and challenges. The god of the underworld thought they would fail; he failed to realize the power of the two brothers.

When the two brothers found Hades in his grand palace of the dead they were unprepared for the price to pay to retrieve the dead woman.

Impressed with the brothers' persistence with each obstacle Hades awarded them a gift and said that if either of them looked at Mito they would lose their gift and die. Madara, seeing that the gift held more power than any mortal could ever imagine, tore a long piece of cloth from his tunic and wrapped it around his eyes.

Izuna lead the woman and his brother as they made their way out of the dark territory of Hades, careful not to look at Mito.

Hades, being the god of death, hated it when mortals cheated death. He shrouded the woman in an illusion making her believe that an army of the dead were constantly stabbing her. Being weak minded she fell into the illusion quickly. This attracted the attention of Izuna who turned and met Mito's eyes, his scream filled the cavern as his heart stopped.

Hades was happy.

Madara refused to leave his brother behind, he guided the hysterical woman onto his back and carried his brother in his arms. Despite the twists and turns and sharp stones, Madara made it out of the cavern blindfolded.

When Madara returned to his home he let Mito run into Hashirama's, the two lovers elated that they had another chance to be together. Hashirama offered his best friend thanks for allowing him an opportunity to court Mito properly, but Madara on the other hand felt no such sentiment.

Madara hated Hashirama and Mito, he blamed them for the death of his brother. He told them to leave before he killed the both of them. The friendship ended between the Senju and the Uchiha.

Was Sasuke like Madara?

On the outside the prince looked regal, respectful, and held a high boastful head. All of which showed off his authority and power. But when she sat in the same room with him he changed, his personality flipped like a coin.

How could this person be the most sought after man in all of Greece, how would he be the prince and future lord of his land with a firm, just fist?

Many women in Greece wanted political power and influence, and by the way he chose her of all of those women she could see that he had no interest in people using him to gain power. If anything he would use someone else for his own gain.

Sakura understood that he saw everything and every person as a strategic piece to a puzzle, something that would gain him control. His army was just full of pawns, and the two romans held a much higher position over them. Where did she factor into that?

More questions filled her head, 'My life is filled with nothing but questions, and they need to be answered!'

Gradually feeling came back to her as her eyes flickered open, rolling her head she glanced around the room tiredly. 'Whatever he did to me is still taking its toll. I need to get out of here, I need to do what Gaara said.'

Sakura found that ropes restricted her from standing; the bastard tied her to a damn chair!

Here she was- tied to a chair, no way to untie them or cut them, she should not panic, she should not panic or cry.

She wiggled her hands and feet hoping that her slender hands would slip through the bonds, it did not work, if anything she just made it worse. Desperately she yanked and pulled both of her pale lower arms becoming raw and red. Her eyes threatened to water.

'I said I would not cry, and I will not!'

Her cheeks moistened, "I will not cry, I can't lose!"

With one last pull she and the chair tumbled onto the floor the chair landing on its side, her hands and feet still attached to its legs, wait…legs that were open ended.

Pathetically she twisted so she was on her knees praying to the gods above that she would succeed in the endeavor she was about to do. Taking a deep breath she arched her back and slid forward in the overturned chair getting higher and higher off of the floor, her feet inched the rope off of the legs of the chair. YES! Her legs were free! Now her hands.

Her tied hands grabbed the bottom of the chair as she stood up and placed the chair up right. Letting go of the chair she slid down to the floor, picking up the front legs of the chair the rope came free from the chair.

She was free.

SHE FREED HERSELF!

She did not need the help of a goddess, she could do anything on her own.

New found determination met her, no longer did she feel pity, no longer did she feel broken. Green emerald eyes stared at the door in front of her, challenges would face her when she opened it and she is ready for them.

Whispering to herself she said, "No one will hold me back again, no longer will I be afraid!"

She will not be someone's pawn.

She strides to the door, the first barrier to her life, and she placed her had on the knob, now the real journey and fight has begun!

**End of Arc I**

**Next update: April 21, 2013.**

**The poll is still up on my profile if you have not voted yet. The current tally is:**

**-Gaara with 16 votes**

**-Itachi with 6 votes**

**-Naruto with 2 votes**

**-Neji with 1 vote**

**- Shikamaru with 1 vote**

_**REVIEW **_

And you shall receive more chapters! Help this story reach 325 reviews!

_**REVIEW**_


	22. Arc II Chapter 1: Life

**Hello everyone! Happy end of April and I hope you are all getting ready for your last month of school along with your upcoming finals!**

**I just wanted to let y'all know that I will most likely not be updating in the month of May just for those reasons of State examinations, finals at school, and a GPA that needs to be brought up. **

**Here's another Chapter continuing The Lord's Fallen Angel's story, ****Virgin Blood.**** As usual the next update date will be posted on the bottom of the chapter. Please note that I may be late, (Or early) with said updates due to the school year.**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for their support of this story, especially my golden ones!**

"_If you do not fight for life, then life will never be won."_

Arc II

Chapter 1: Life

It wasn't the dark hallways that scared Sakura the most, they were empty. Every couple feet she would walk there would be a dim fire dancing on the tip of a candle, but there were no guards, no prince. Something was not right, Sasuke knew that she had the capability to run, she wouldn't brush aside the idea that the prince's arrogance superseded the necessity to have sentinels watch over the halls. No, assuming so would mean that she could lose focus.

Brushing her hands against the soft concrete walls she lightly stepped on the stone floor making sure not to make any noise. She feared every corner she turned, afraid that someone would notice her. She felt extremely happy that her armor still clung to her body the prince failing to remove it, at least it's strong leather would provide her protection if she were suddenly attacked.

Glancing over her shoulder she watched the candle light dance in the inn's halls, shadows moving seductively on the tapestries hanging on the walls. She found these walls foreboding, pictures of warriors defeating monsters stitched into the hanging fabric, legends. She had to find Tenten, Sakura refused to leave this place without her.

The last time she saw the huntress she sustained a great amount of injury, and if anything she knew that the huntress would be awake by now. Sakura had to take into account that when the two made their escape from this place that the huntress's foot would hinder them, the only idea that came to her was wrapping the huntress's injured foot and hope that they would not be discovered. The again the two of them wore armor, something that was uncommon for women to wear, if anything they would have to remove their armor and slip into something more feminine.

And this was a problem. The huntress would be reluctant to remove her most cherished possession, and the huntress probably does not like the typical dress the average Greek wore.

Another thing she had to take into account was her hair. By now the soldiers and people in the inn and village knew that the woman with pink hair was a prisoner of some sort to the prince, and they would take no pity on an escaping captive. So she had to make sure that her hair was covered, she had to make sure she could not be recognized by any passerby.

Laughter erupted down the hall as a door opened light flooding from the room a regular Greek solider stumbling over his feet. Sakura held her breath and pressed herself as close to the wall as she could and hope that he wouldn't see her.

In his drunken state the solider mumbled and yelled a slurred goodbye to the men in the room. The door closed and the solider had to find his way to his room in the dark candle lit hall. Rubbing his eyes he squinted trying to make out where he was and he chuckled to himself, biting his lips as his head swayed he made his trek down the hall.

The man staggered pathetically, every so often his shoulders meeting the walls. Glanced out of the corner of her eye Sakura's breathing increased as her heart began to thunder within her, the solider stumbled ever closer to her hiding spot in the shadows.

In the darkness of the hall she could see the stupid drunk look plastered on his face, the redness in his cheeks and the alcohol dripping from his lips. The man's sweat glistened on his dirty body and his blond hair probably disheveled from a whore, the smell of sex radiated from his body.

Sadly her hopes were shattered when the drunken man made eye contact with her, a slight smile gracing his disgraceful appearance. All Sakura could do was stay where she was and wait for the man to lose interest.

The soldier came upon her, to him she looked like some sort of goddess of war with her armor, she was nothing like the whores and women flaunting their bodies. No, she was something that caught his interest, even if he could feel any danger, his drunken mind would dismiss it.

"May I touch you goddess of war?"

Goddess? Sakura knew this man was drunk but not **that** drunk. This man should have recognized her and called for other soldiers to come and apprehend her, but this?

Sakura said nothing and the soldier took it as permission to caress her cheek and lean in close. His large body over shadowed hers, if any one were to pass by they would pay the two no attention, nor would they be able to see Sakura.

Deciding to play along for her best interests her face hardened as she put both of her hands on his shoulders her eyes staring directly into his, "Where are the weapons taken from the huntress and the princess?"

The solider responded placing his hands on her hips feeling the slight curve to her body along the sides of her smooth leather armor and burying his face in the crook of her neck, kissing her warm soft skin.

"Downstairs," he whispered, "With the medical commander, the one with the white hair."

By this time her arms wrapped around his neck and allowed him to get even closer to her, she hated doing this, and she couldn't shake the feeling for guilt that flooded her as this soldier's exposed skin brushed up against hers. This was necessary; she had to do this for her freedom.

Resolving her mind she kissed his cheek tilting her head to allow the soldier better access to her neck, whispering huskily, "Where is the huntress?"

Back pressed on the wall the soldier's hands lowered from her waist to the bottom of her legs lifting her off the ground, the soldier breathed in her scent, his lips moving on her skin, "Goddess you smell heavenly…"

"Where is the huntress?" She repeated, this time more commanding.

The soldier broke away from her and gazed into her vibrant emerald eyes, and within those eyes emerald eyes a golden spark danced entrancing him. His entire body relaxed, that golden spark moving like the sands in the wind, truly she was a goddess for no mortal eyes could hold this beauty. He felt a sense of security wash over him.

"Downstairs…" he mumbled, those golden sands imprinted in his mind, he wanted to do anything for this woman, this goddess. "Please," he begged, "Let me kiss your lips."

The woman watched as the man's face neared hers, this couldn't happen. Even though at the moment the man saw her as a goddess he was still a soldier, and soldiers conquer. And this soldier saw her as some sort of goddess of war and if she did submit to him he would believe that he had conquered her, a goddess, and would have no more curiosity and then this hold she had on him would disappear. No she still needed him; besides a goddess never submits to the pleas of a mortal, and gods do as they please.

Just as his lips came so close to hers her hands snapped from around his neck and pushed him away, "Not until you have served me and then earn your reward."

The lust that filled his soldier's eyes faded but still remained lit; the goddess was right, service before pleasure. But he wanted her so badly. Falling to his knees he bowed his head to the heavenly creature in his midst, "If you goddess I will do anything."

"Kill the commanding medic, bring me the weapons and his head, and meet me at the back entrance of the kitchens."

Standing the soldier saluted her, "It will be done my lady."

Sakura watched as the soldier left her and she began to wonder how she was able to influence the man to do as she had ordered. Turning her attention back to the task at hand she had to find Tenten before the soldier completed his task, and then they had to make their escape.

She had to get downstairs without drawing any attention to her, and she needed a change of garments, armor would not do. She was fortunate that the soldier did not register her as the wife of the prince of the captured woman, but she wouldn't expect the other soldiers to think the same way as the drunken one. Another thought came to her mind, the said soldier might fail her, for all she knew the commanding medic could be wide awake or immensely strong. The soldier could be nothing compared to the medic, but medics were usually weak.

Sakura saddened, a medic was meant to heal and here she sent an armed man to kill him. It is necessary; she thought to herself, the medic must hold a lot of the prince's trust for him to assign the medic to hold the weapons and belongings of the captives. Then again the prince hated weakness so the medic must be trained in combat, especially if that said medic came Sparta. She could have just sent that drunken soldier mind clouded with lust and a want to serve her to his death.

Breaking from her thoughts the woman walked in the direction the soldier had, somewhere down this hall there was bound to be stairs. Passing by a window she saw the crescent moon low in the western sky, early morning, only a few hours from day break. Most people should be asleep, but it was evident that some would be up and roaming the inn.

Finally coming to the end of the hallway she met the stairs that would hopefully lead her to the huntress, Sakura did not know who or what lay down there but she could only pray to the gods that she would meet salvation. As she descended down the stairs the sounds of drums and music filled her ears along with the calling of men.

(X)

The joy filled prince celebrated with the rest of his army that was still awake, Sasuke was not one to sleep at night when a victory meant celebration. The prince reclined on fine pillows and wore his most comfortable purple tunic. He enjoyed the spoils of wine and women. An arrogant smirk adorned on his face he lifted a wine filled cup to his lips and drank the sweet alcohol as he watched the women entertaining them, one woman in particular.

Her half lulled reddish brown eyes spoke thousands of words as her hips swayed back and forward, her body moving dangerously. The red hair that danced around her with every spin her body made only enticed the prince's interest.

The long red fabric tied around her arms flowing in the air only accented her beauty; she eyed him seductively as she danced to the beat of the drums.

Gay laughter filled the room while the other dancers entertained his generals and high ranking officers that were even allowed in his presence, he never liked being around those who were of a lower class. He raised his cup in the air, "Servant girl, more wine."

Quickly one of the servants ran to the prince, her eyes nervous and her hands shacking as she filled his cup.

"Quit your shaking or you'll spill it."

The girl nodded and tried her hardest to still her shaking hand, when the red liquid reached the top she pulled away from the prince relieved that she had not spilt the inn's most precious product. Before the prince dismissed her she retreated to the back of the room by the main staircase, she had always hated these parties and festivities the inn often held when someone important or a dignitary came along. So often she would be ordered to serve the wine and those dignitaries were often rude.

Staring into the wine pitcher she saw the reflection of a girl descending down the stairs, she slowly turned her head and her eyes widened it was the woman the prince brought! Just as she opened her mouth to call to the rosette she was quickly silenced when the woman brought her finger to her lips and shook her head. The woman then gestured for her to come, her eyes silently pleading.

Placing the pitcher of wine on a standing hall table she climbed up the stairs to meet the woman, "What is it you need honored guest?"

"Do you know where a woman with brown hair might be, she came in with the soldiers one of them was carrying her."

Well this rosette was straight forward.

"I have, she is down that hall four doors down on the right." The girl paused and watched the woman's facial expressions chance from questioning to analytical, "May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Sakura, and yours?"

No one had ever asked her name before,"Hibari."

"I need your help Habari."

The girl nodded, she often had to help guests so she didn't see a problem assisting this woman with whatever she needed. Maybe she needed more blankets or a softer pillow.

"I need your clothes."

What? Habari glanced down at her yellow and orange robes; no one has ever asked her for her clothes before. Besides dignitaries always brought their own clothes, and hers were by far not very fashionable, "Why?"

"You see that man other there, the one you just served, he has been chasing me for days and is now holding me against my will. I'm sure you know what I am talking about?"

Habari nodded, this woman was running away, or at least trying to, and she already knew that this was going to be a secret keeping matter. "So what's in it for me?"

"I saw the look on your face, you don't like it here. You want something more, and I am just like that, you can come with me. The other woman that they brought is a huntress of Artemis, and everyone knows not to spite the goddess of the hunt."

Everything the rosette said was true, she never did like it in this place, "You want me to come with you?"

"If that is what you want, then yes. Freedom is the only thing I can offer."

Contemplating on the matter the girl's eyes snapped to Sakura's, "Yes, I want to leave."

Smiling Sakura began to untie her armor and remove her tunic underneath.

"What are you doing?! These are the stairs!" Habari whispered furiously.

"There's no time, besides everyone is either being entertained or asleep."

Biting her lip Habari began to remove her clothing, "This is very degrading, if I were caught doing this I would be whipped for sure."

The woman gasped, "You get whipped? That's Horrible!"

"Well I often do get in trouble around here I am glad that I am leaving."

By this time the two were stark naked their clothes littering the steps, Sakura grabbed Habari's robes, "Put on my armor and wait for me at the back entrance of the kitchens, a drunken soldier will come along with my weapons and a head, tell him that you are waiting for the goddess of war."

"Who's that?"

"Me. Don't even ask, he was drunk and obviously delirious." Sakura pulled on Habari's robes and situated the fabric so it would hide her left arm, her injury needed to be hidden. "Can I use your head covering?"

Habari who had put on Sakura's tunic and was working on the straps of the protective covering, reached up to her head and pulled off the fabric letting her brown locks fall to her shoulders and handed it to Sakura. She watched as she put her hair into a braid and pile it on top of her head and wrap the head fabric around her hair.

"Alright Habari, I'll see you in a little bit."

"Hey Sakura," the girl murmured, "before you go I just wanted to tell you that when I passed by that room a couple hours ago…that I heard screaming coming from the room. I don't know if she's alright…"

Sakura glanced at the floor a sad look crossing her face, then looking at Habari, "She should be fine, and I'm sure she would love to meet you." And with that Sakura ran down the stairs, her hair hidden and her eyes filled with determination.

(X)

Reaching the bottom of the steps Sakura turned the corner, "Servant girl! I require wine!" she froze, glancing at the pitcher that Habari left on the hall table she picked it up and let her head fall staring at the ground making sure that the prince would not see her face.

She quickly glided over to the prince and stopped when he lifted his cup, "This time no shaking."

Carefully lifting the pitcher to Sasuke's cup she poured it gingerly acting like the perfect servant girl, little did she know that she poured it like all of the times she poured the prince a glass of wine in Egypt, and the prince recognized it vaguely.

"Stop, go away I do not require your service any longer, leave me be."

Bowing her head just as a servant would she backed away from the prince, glancing up she saw the prince burry his head in the palms of his hands. She almost pitied him, what could possibly be running though the prince's head?

Placing the wine pitcher on the hall table she continued with her mission, she had to get out of here before he prince came to his senses. She no longer heard his laughter booming from the room, she had little time.

Finally making it to the hall Sakura opened the fourth door on the right and stepped into the dark room, she remained absolutely quite.

"So you're back to torture me Prince, grow tired of your whores and alcohol?"

Sakura sighed in relief, "Tenten, it's me."

"Sakura? How did you get down here? Are you okay, did he hurt you?" Tenten's voice sounded panicked, Artemis would not be happy if Sakura was harmed, Hades she wouldn't be happy! The huntress had grown sort of close to the runaway bride.

"I'm fine at the moment, but the priority is getting you out of here. How's your foot?" Sakura began to walk closer to the huntress's voice, her eyes straining in the dark.

"It hurts and it doesn't help that they decided to sick a knife in it and aggravate it even more, it hasn't healed at all. And it also doesn't help that I'm tied up in this damn bed."

Sakura reached the corner of one of the wooden bed frame feeling for any rope bindings, "I'm going to get us out of here." Sakura's nimble fingers found the ends of the rope that bound the huntress and she began to untie them. After pulling out the expertly tied knot she moved to the front part of the bed and worked to untie the other ropes.

When the huntress's hands and feet were finally freed the huntress sat up flexing her sore arm muscles.

"Do you think I can carry you?" Sakura asked.

"I don't think so. I'm far too heavy especially in my armor. Speaking of which, where in Hades is your armor?"

"I gave it to a servant girl."

Even in the darkness Sakura could feel Tenten's eyes blazing.

"Do you know how much that armor is worth? It's priceless and you just give it away like it was nothing!"

Taking a deep breath Sakura helped the huntress out of her bed and onto her foot avoiding her injured one. "The girl is waiting for us, along with a soldier. We need to meet them as soon as possible."

"Oh so now this is some charity field trip. Do I look like an orphanage mother to you?"

Sakura wrapped her arm over the huntress's shoulder and stabilized her body the two of them limped toward the door.

"Not only do I need to take care of you I probably have to deal with a soldier with low self-esteem and a winey teenage girl, great! Thanks Sakura, exactly what I wanted!"

Sakura rolled her eyes in the darkness and opened the door the hall's light flooding their eyes, the huntress's rants came to a halt as the two slowly made their way down the hallway. They stopped as they saw the performers transition into another dance, one that was even more erotic then the last. Sakura made sure that the men's eyes were glued on the performers before she dared to even cross the grand hall of entertainment.

As quickly and quietly as they could they inched their way to the kitchens. Shouts and laughter filled the air again as the drums beat harder than ever. Sakura thanked the gods above that the entertainers were far to preoccupied with their performance to pay the two any attention.

Just as the dance came to an end the huntress and rosette made it to the kitchens, keeping the same speed they made it to the back door that lead to the court yard.

Opening the door the servant girl's eyes met the two women who entered the courtyard, "Sakura! I'm glad you made it, I was beginning to worry."

Looking around Sakura saw the soldier leaning against the wall with three bags slung over his shoulder, one of them dripping with blood from the weaves. Sakura couldn't help but give a small smile the soldier did as he was told.

Bringing Tenten to the ground she glanced at the soldier, "Soldier bring me those bags, I need something that will heal the huntress."

The soldier did as he was told and marched to the goddess who was no longer in her war armor, he was confused when a girl entered the courtyard in the goddess's armor, but when she told him that the goddess sent her and the goddess of war would soon join them with her huntress he immediately relaxed. The soldier gave her the bags minus the red one and watched as the goddess dug through them, a thought popped into his head, couldn't the goddess just heal the huntress with her powers?

"You aren't a goddess are you?" he spoke.

Sakura's eyes snapped up to meet the soldier's, "No…I am not."

"So I just threw away the rest of my career for a captive, a captive who can manipulate a man with dancing golden eyes…" The solder rubbed his head, the alcohol losing its hold on his body, "I am such a fool."

The huntress looked up at the soldier, "Did you say golden eyes?"

Sakura stopped rummaging in her bags, "What are you talking about "Golden Eyes"? I have green ones."

The soldier stared directly into the rosette's emerald eyes, "Yes I said golden, dancing like sand in your eyes. Like a desert, I have been to Egypt before."

Tenten slowly turned her head to Sakura, "Who exactly did you sleep with Sakura?"

"I don't know…" Sakura returned to searching through the bags, and she found what she was looking for, Aphrodite's healing oil. Taking the bottle she poured some of the oil onto the huntress's injured foot, she watched as the wound burned away as new flesh replaced the empty space in the sole of her the huntress's foot.

In the east the sky began to lighten, soon the sun would rise.

The huntress stood looking at the people in front of her, the servant girl, the deceived solider, and the runaway bride, what a rag tag group they have become. "Alright, it's time for us to get out of here."

The soldier placed the bloodied bag on the ground and picked up the two bags that Sakura had finished rummaging through and they began to walk out of the courtyard and into the village.

Tenten called to the dishonored man, "Hey Greek Solider, what's your name?"

"My name is Taka, and I'm Roman."

**Next update: June 5, 2013**

**The poll is still up on my profile and so far GaaSaku is in the lead!**

**Current tally:**

**-Gaara with 23 votes**

**-Itachi with 10 votes**

**-Sai with 3 votes**

**-Naruto with 2 votes**

**-Shikamaru with 2 votes**

**-Neji with 2 votes **

**-Sasuke with 1 vote**

**-Kakashi with 1 vote**

_**REVIEW**_

And you shall receive more chapters! Help this story reach 330 reviews!

_**REVIEW**_


	23. Arc II Chapter 2: A Father

**Happy summer everybody! It's time to strap down and buckle up and hope for more frequent updates that I hope to provide for readers like you. **

**Here's another chapter continuing ****The Lord's Fallen Angel's**** story Virgin Blood, as usual the next update will be posted on the bottom of the chapter. Please not that some updates may be late, (Or early).**

**Thank you to my reviewers as always.**

Arc II

Chapter 2: A Father

Gaara's eyes snapped open to meet the darkness of his bath chambers, sitting up quickly he winced as his back cracked and his muscles screamed. Okay not the best idea at the moment, but his thoughts took precedence over this body.

Standing slowly he walked to the bath where the Greek Goddess had given him the blue vial, looking into the refection he saw purple and back bruises decorating his skin from his elbows and upper arms to his lower back.

Looking at the ground he saw the glass vial shattered on the floor was proof the last night did indeed happen.

Next time a goddess gives him a vial of unknown liquid he's going to go to his bed or a chair.

Bruises are very unbecoming for a Pharaoh.

Rubbing his eyes he gave a large sigh as the image of the little redheaded boy crossed his mind. There was no denying it, that boy had to be his son, it made sense.

Gaara had never fathered a child, nor had he ever had taken an interest in a mortal woman before Sakura.

But this?

He had felt it; the child had strength and power, more power than a normal Egyptian demigod. How could that be possible? In all of his years of existing the god had been challenged by various demigods believing that they could defeat him, and his child held more strength, enough to bend time and appear in Sakura's mindscape in a future form.

A father.

He never knew the love of a father. Seth never paid him any attention. Any thought of love to Gaara was just a hallow dream, something he never had. The lack of the word in his life tore him to pieces.

Gaara pursed his lips as memories began to flood his mind, hate and rage filled his being.

Often while growing up Seth always had something else to do, causing Chaos in one place or another. Sometimes the god would be gone for maybe years or decades, but every time he returned home he would lock himself into his bed chambers and ignore his family.

This was the birth of Gaara's distain for his father, the seeds of his hatred that would bring him to unconsciously become his father.

But no more.

He will be nothing like his father. He would love his child as much as he would grow to love his mother. Gaara knew Sakura was special, something drew him to her, but he didn't know what.

The mortal god cupped his hands and scooped water out of the bath and splashed the cooling liquid on his face. His mind ran a mile a minute every thought, every possibility, every outcome ran through his head. Sakura was in trouble, he knew that much, and the child obviously was in some sort of pain to have forced a Greek Goddess to contact him in Egypt.

When the water settled in the large basin of water Gaara could only look at his reflection, his memory matching every facial aspect he saw in the child to his own. The cheek bones and mouth all the same as his.

That child had to be brought to him safely. There was no denying it.

Turning away from his reflection the mortal god left the confines of his washroom to his bed chambers. Suddenly an apparition of the small boy met his eyes, golden eyes danced as the boy ran across the room to Gaara, only to disappear as Gaara brought his hands to the boy's arms. He closed his eyes again and sighed; now his mind played cruel tricks on him.

Now was not the time to think about what could be, right now the young woman and his unborn child were not in the borders of Egypt, his domain and kingdom. He had no control of anything outside of Egypt, a pharaoh cannot simply just walk into Greece with a small army demanding a woman. No he would be stopped before he even reached the middle of the Mediterranean.

Think Gaara, what could he possibly do?

Taking a deep breath he let his thoughts wander again, there had to be something he could do to help her somehow. He needed someone who was loyal to him, but for the past few months it has been hard for him to find that one person he could trust. He just needed that one person to seek out Sakura and bring her to Egypt unharmed.

A knock at his chamber door sounded, thus silencing any thoughts the mortal god had. On the inside Gaara felt a rush of rage flow through his body, no one interrupts him!

The door opened as a servant entered the room bearing food and drink for the morning and evening star of Egypt. Gaara recalled that her name was Bakt. Timidly she spoke.

"I'm sorry my pharaoh to disturb you. The priests bid that you prepare to meet the rising of Ra."

The servant walked to the other side of the room and placed the large tray of food on to a table, she gingerly placed a golden goblet next to the tray. Gaara watched as she guided herself to one of his chests and opened it, reaching into the chest the servant pulled out his ceremonial garb and jewelry.

"Do you need help changing my pharaoh?"

Every day she would ask this question and every day he responded with the same answer.

"No, you may leave and return in a little while."

The servant gave a quick bow and turned away from Gaara, just as she was about to exit the room Gaara spoke to her.

"Wait, I require one more thing."

She turned and met his gaze her head lowered and submissive, "What do you need my Pharaoh?"

Gaara quickly walked with purpose to a table that he primarily used for writing. Pharaohs simply do not run. Sheets of papyrus were stacked neatly at one corner weighted by a small stone bearing a small prayer to Horus for a long dynastic rule. A look of disgust passed his face as he touched the stone lifting it off of the papyrus papers and placing it at another end of his writing table. Oh afterlife he hated that thing.

He took a long stick that served as his writing utensil and he spat onto a stone of condensed ash and charcoal. Rubbing the tip of the utensil on the watered stone he loaded the utensil with the needed amount of ink.

The pharaoh took a piece of papyrus paper and began to write an order that he would have the servant deliver to one of his advisers.

When he finished his message Gaara rolled the papyrus and wrapped it in a red cord, he then took semi melted bees wax sphere and placed it at the ends of the wrapped cord. Taking this stone that bore his royal name he pressed it against the wax and sealed his royal demand.

The servant girl waited patiently for the mortal god to finish his message, she let her eyes wander through out the pharaoh's room. She was in here every day but never had she really gotten a closer look at the pharaoh's sleeping chambers, she only delivered his food.

Her eyes roamed to the open door of his bath chambers; she squinted as she spied broken glass on the floor.

Just when she was about to speak up about the broken glass she quickly shut her gaping mouth when the pharaoh turned from his table and walked to her with a wax sealed papyrus paper.

"Take this to my adviser Baki, be sure that he follows exactly what it says."

The servant girl nodded and the moment she looked up at the pharaoh he was already making his way to his clothes all while untying the waist wrap he wore.

"My lord Pharaoh, if I may interject, I saw something broken in your bath chambers. Would you also like me to send up someone who can clean it for you?"

In the midst of removing the final layer of his clothes he glanced over his shoulder to the bath chamber, his eyes fixed on the broken glass. If someone else cleaned that mess up they would find that that glass was not of Egypt. It is bad enough that he enjoyed foreign alcohol and food goods, but to have his servants find out about a broken vial from Greece would only put a strain on the relationship he had with Egypt.

The Egyptian people found that his habit of enjoying Grecian foods and drink was a disgrace to their culture and a slap in the face to the hard working farmers and wine makers in Egypt. Gaara knew that he needed to be connected to the people with their food and culture but he couldn't help that now he had the power to order whatever he desired and not be questioned about it by merchants. He also didn't have to wait for the demand for something he desired.

Making up his mind he said, "No need, I have already sent for someone to clean up that mess."

A lie, but enough to make the servant do what he originally ordered her to do.

The servant bowed again, "Yes my lord pharaoh." And she left.

The pharaoh by now was naked of his clothing and was in the process of putting on his ceremonial waist wrap to welcome Ra back into the upper world.

Wonder how that old coot is doing?

Gaara slid on the upper arm golden bands encrusted with various precious stones that came from the southern mines of Egypt. He then pulled on his solid gold wrist bands and his beaded necklace of many hues of red, blue, and green.

When he finished dressing he walked to another table in his chambers, the table he despised the most, the _makeup_ table.

When he was an immortal god he didn't have to put on his eye makeup, he just willed the black lines to couture the edges of his eyes. A couple days after falling from the sky he noticed his perfect eye makeup slowly fading from his face, to say he was slightly disappointed would be an understatement.

He was furious.

Becoming pharaoh was not what he signed up for but he accepted it none of the less. Losing his perfect eye makeup, he didn't think that was a perk about turning into a mortal.

To avoid embarrassment for the next day Gaara had stayed up all night perfecting the art of eye lining with a pointed wooden instrument and charcoal. He had made so many mistakes that night that he had to have servants bring up more cotton cloths to wipe his poor reds eyes.

From that day on Gaara had made the decision that if he were ever to be asked or appointed to be the pharaoh he would politely decline. And if they didn't listen then he would have to disappear and go somewhere where no god or goddess would be able to find him.

Or maybe he should just skip those meetings in the first place.

He sat at the table and picked up the dreaded make up applicator and loaded it with semi wet charcoal, he brought it to his face as he watched himself guide the tip of the utensil around the edges of one of his eyes in a mirror. The god made sure that his hand did not flinch or waver, the last thing he wanted to do was redo his charcoal eyeliner.

**Next update: Will be a surprise.**

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	24. Arc II Chapter 3: Departure

**Hello everybody. I have to admit this chapter came out later than originally planned for me. A lot later. **

**Here's another chapter continuing ****The Lord's Fallen Angel's**** story Virgin Blood, as usual the next update will be posted on the bottom of the chapter. Please note that some updates may be late, (Or early).**

**Thank you to my reviewers as always.**

Arc II

Chapter 3: Departure

The hot midday summer sun glared down upon Greece, the winds at times stagnant offering little comfort from the blazing chariot of Apollo in the vast deep blue sky. At this time of day people usually slept to avoid the sun's rays, saving their fair skin from pealing after the burn that would follow after staying out too long under the sun. Animals sought shade and water to quench their sweaty thirst. It would be strange to see people active during this time of day, only the brave warrior would train during this hot time of day, intent on being the best in his city state, or the desperate working for their next meal.

Tenten knew that the summer would soon draw to a close in the coming month, as much as she liked being outdoors and on the hunt she disliked the heat. Looking around her, she was unsurprised that the roman solider was fairing quite well. He said so himself, he had been to the deserts of Egypt.

The servant girl, Habari she reminded herself, on the other hand was a different story. At times her small figure would be hunched over, and the girl would stare at her feet as she scuffled the gravel beneath her sandals.

Tenten's gaze then turned toward Sakura, she seemed to have enough energy to keep up, but her tired eyes gave away her true condition. As far as Tenten knew, pregnancy wasn't supposed to affect the mother like that; there was something about the woman's body that appeared frail and weak.

Sakura needs to rest.

Since leaving the inn their little makeshift group was able to get a head start at their escape from the prince. The inn that was situated at the top of one of the hills was growing smaller and smaller with each step they took getting closer to the bright blue coast of the Mediterranean. Tenten would wager that when the prince discovered that they were gone it would take a while for him to reach them. On horseback he probably would get to the coast in an hour or perhaps two hours if he decided to torture his horse with an intense run.

The huntress closed her eyes briefly as she heard the waves of the great sea crash against the shoreline. Soon…

"Tenten," her eyes snapped open to the voice that she had known for about a week now, "You never really told me what number four was." Sakura's eyes were distant as she was obviously thinking about something.

At this the roman and the servant girl's attention sparked, none of them have spoken a word since they left the inn.

"What do you mean Sakura?" the huntress said.

"When you first found me, when Artemis sent you, you said three things to me and never told me the fourth." Sakura swept her long pink hair out of her eyes as sweat gathered on her brow. All of her attention on the huntress.

Tenten sighed, slightly uncomfortably she replied, "I don't have the best memory of conversations, you're going to have to remind me what I said."

"The first one you said I needed a bath, that one was pretty much taken care of, except I would give anything for another bath right now." At that Habari gave a small giggle.

"Well I think all of us need that one." The girl said.

Sakura continued. "The second: I needed to learn how to survive. I got a few things on our little adventure so far, but I don't feel like I could truly survive on my own. I can only hold a bow properly!"

To this Tenten responded, "You have only had that bow for a week, it is impossible to master such a weapon in that amount of time, or any weapon for that matter. Holding the bow properly is a key fundamental that you mastered rather quickly. When I first picked up a bow, it took me four weeks to actually understand what it really means to be one with the weapon, to breathe with it."

She continued, "When you were on that hill when you first pulled that bow string, it looked so natural, but then you hesitated you began to think. Even when you didn't fire a single arrow, you still had that connection with your bow and the arrow at your fingers. Many huntresses would give anything for that natural draw."

Silence echoed around them for a few seconds, Sakura only took in the huntress's words in awe. Her hands ghosted over the wood of the bow slung over her back, fingers feeling the wood almost in a loving caress. She spoke softer this time.

"Third I needed to be healed, the fourth you would tell me later…"

"You have probably noticed that you are following me blindly, trusting me to take you where you can be safe away from the prince. I am taking you north to the home of the former head priestess of the Temple of Artemis. Where hopefully you will be safe. As long as you are away from places that the prince controls you should be safe for a short amount of time."

Habari interjected, "You're planning on taking a boat, that's why we're going to the coast."

"I'm not planning on taking anything, I don't know how to sail and I hope to gain some help from old friends of mine."

"How old are these friends of yours?"

"Pretty old."

(X)

Close to about an hour later they reached the shoreline it was noticeably cooler by the water and there were a lot more people out and about than up on the hill. Small shacks lined the shore, wooden docks stretched out into the sea holding a few boats snuggly against its tall pillars.

In the distance many small fishing boats bobbed up and down with the movement of the water, people stood on their boat's deck dragging nets through the water. Some boater's worked in pairs dragging a much larger net.

The water glittered and the four misfits readily took off their sandals and ran into the water, each with their own amount of excitement. The water brought comfort to each of the runaways, Habari played in the water diving underneath the waves. Sakura only went out to about her thighs and the soldier and the huntress only stood together knee deep in the water.

"I know what you're doing." Taka said. He crossed his arms across his chest as she stared at the pink haired woman in front of him. He had been under many commanders and he knew cowardice. At times while Rome was still trying to get on stable ground with its republic, conquerors would go out and try to gain land for the growing empire. When a general came home victorious he would most likely be voted into the senate.

"Running away is all I have right now. I have not heard from my goddess." Tenten also studied Sakura.

"Initially I thought this would be simple, get the woman away from her crazy husband, crazy husband would give up, and Sakura would be on her merry way. But no. This is something much more than I anticipated."

"The gods on Olympus are up to something, a game of strategy has been set in motion." Tenten glanced at Taka, "And we are merely pawns at the mercy of those who wield us."

She turned back to Sakura, "She too is a pawn, but the gods are trying to prove a point. They want to see which god will best the other, and I am afraid that the same turmoil will grab ahold of them like the Wars of Troy."

"Honestly I have lived a long time serving Artemis, but never have I been given such a task that would be vital to my goddess succeeding."

Tenten reached into her armor and removed a silver coin, blew on it, and threw it into the water. Many ripples danced in the water as the coin sank to the bottom.

"More magic." The roman breathed.

"No, our way out of here."

Tenten left the water and she called to Habari and Sakura to come to shore, Taka followed the huntress and waited for the two women to meet them.

"He will not give up you know, the prince. He is aided by a goddess, a goddess of the Peacock." Taka whipped sweat from his brow and took a water bladder from his waist and took a swig.

"Then we must get to the north fast…else we risk getting captured again."

Sakura and Habari reached shore and both talked to each other as they met the huntress and the soldier.

Sakura smiled at Habari, "I remember the first time I gazed upon the sea, it was at sunset and the light danced on the waters. I felt a rush of warmth within me hugging every fiber of my being. My mother and father were with me for the last time then, but back then everything in that moment felt safe."

The younger girl looked over her shoulder to look out into the water, "Every day I would look out one of the windows in the inn, I always wondered if I would ever get a chance to leave this place and explore what the world had to offer. So often I had heard of the silk roads from the merchants that would pass through, they carried rich spices that would linger in the storage room, exploding powder for entertainment, and the softest fabric my fingers had ever touched."

"I too wondered what it would be like to travel the world," Sakura paused, "but I had found refuge in the Temple of Artemis. It had become my home and I found love while serving the goddess. I love I thought I would have forever lost. A love of family."

"My mother and father sold me to the inn owner…"

"You have us, and yeah I know we just got together and such, but give us a try. Tenten is kind of a hard ass, but I'm sure on the inside she is nothing like she is on the outside."

Tenten interrupted the two girls, "I'd like to think that I am not a softy."

Sakura smiled jokingly, "I'm sure you are, deep down."

Tenten tilted her head forward and matched Sakura's smile, "Would you like to test that?"

"Actually yes I would."

Rolling her eyes Tenten looked away from Sakura and pushed her lightly on the shoulder, "Alright let's get down to business, we're still in danger of being caught and those friends of mine should be coming soon. So let's get to the dock's before they come, if we are late they will be exceedingly annoying."

(X)

Just as the group set foot on a long dock that reached out to the sea, a medium sized boat drifted from the open water and next to the berth. Two men in green togas jumped from the deck and landed with grace, but failed to adjust their sea legs to a solid surface. The two quickly regained balance and threw their arms into the air.

"Tenten how good it is to see you!"

The taller of the two took the huntress into his arms and hugged her with the strength of a thousand lions. "You're looking as youthful as ever my dear follower of Artemis.

"Thanks Gai," Tenten said awkwardly, "It's nice to see you too."

She wiggled out of the man's grasp and then was attacked by another embrace by the other fisherman.

"It has been many years since we have seen each other; we have an overdue duel that we must partake."

Tenten struggled to breathe, "Yes Lee, it has been a long time, but right now that duel will not happen if you kill me due to suffocation."

Lee immediately released the huntress, "I am sorry Tenten, I must have let my control over my strength get away from me."

"All is fine."

The older fisherman stepped up, "So who are these flaming young hearts?"

The huntress took Sakura's hand, "This is Sakura, I met her a week ago, and I have a very important mission to keep her safe from the prince of the southern province." She released her hold on the woman and gestured to the roman and the former servant, "We met them at the inn, the girl's name is Habari, and the other guy's name is Taka. I have a favor to ask of you."

Lee's eyes widened, "You mean to have us repay a debt?"

"Well that is what the coin was for, but yes, I do."

Gai bit his lip as he rested both of his hands on his hips, "This has got to be a pretty big favor considering how strong of an individual you are, you can usually get anything you want by yourself."

"Yes, well this is pretty difficult. I need to get to the north fast, and we don't have much time. So I need your help."

"I am assuming that we are taking the four of you and not just yourself. How fast are you talking?"

"Two weeks tops to Athens, I know you could do it."

Lee stepped in, "You know it takes four to reach Andros and another week to reach Athens." He crossed his arms, "You doubt our ability. We can do it in a week and a half."

"Then it's a bet. A week and a half or less you get this," Tenten pulled out a green vial from a pouch at her waist, "Tears of a hydra, and you know what they do." Tenten smirked, "More than that, I get another favor."

"It's a deal!" both Gai and Lee rushed past the group and took the bags away from Taka and Sakura and threw them onto the deck of the boat. Lee climbed the mast and untied the ropes that held the canvas in place.

Taka climbed on board as Gai helped Habari.

Sakura came next to Tenten, "So what do Hydra tears do?"

Tenten smirked as she put away the vile, "It's a stimulant for the most sensitive part on a man."

Sakura raised her eyebrow, "His-?"

"I may be a virgin Sakura, but don't say I don't know anything about sex."

The voice of Gai rang through the air, "Come on we don't have all day! We have to get there soon."

Tenten smiled, "You heard the man, time for us to get going."

**Next Update: 10/31/013 hopefully.**

For my readers: On the subject of "Size" I do not want to say the stereotypical "Bigger is better" or that all males would be motivated to do things in order to get what they desire. I sincerely apologize if I have offended anyone; it was meant as good humor.

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	25. Arc II Chapter 4: Safe Haven

**The following chapter is for the ****GUEST ****who left the following review:**

". I think the old author would have done far better. You seem to be stuck and this story is going nowhere"

My dear Guest and reviewers,

Before I start this chapter I would like to say that things change, interests change, and my life is not to be dictated by people over the internet. Since most people want to know why I have not been uploading, the answers are as listed: Working on my own piece of literature takes up most of my spare time, my writing style has changed since my last update, and I am still learning how to write.

To be honest I picked up this story from The Lord's Fallen Angel because she needed someone to do it because life to brought her away from Fanfiction. At the time I was a naive young author who wanted to relieve another author who felt pressure from this online story.

The problem with fanfiction is the instant gratification that it offers its readers. Simply put most readers do not understand that writers do not always spend their time at the keyboard coming up with the next chapter or plot twist. I do not live with my face to the screen, I do not live for the next review, and I do not live for another follower.

I LIVE FOR ME!

It is great to receive feedback, but to belittle an author, or any person, for any reason, is not tolerated by myself and should not be tolerated by anyone.

So my dear Guest reviewer, my life is mine. The Lord's Fallen Angel perhaps could do a better job than I could. She is after all the one who created the concept of this work. But to arrack someone that you don't even know is rude. I wish you the best my dear Guest, and I hope you learn to have better manners for the next time you think you are qualified enough to point out flaws in other people and to make accusations when you do not know the circumstances of other people's situations.

Thank You. And be mindful.

ARC II

Chapter 4: Safe Haven

Athens had been a sight to behold. The smells of baking bread in the large stone ovens only intoxicated the air making each passerby turn their head to find the source of the wondrous smell. During this time of day markets were flooded with people and merchants haggling for the best price. Every so often a buyer would rage at the low quality of one of the products, the offended merchant would defend his products arguing that he worked hard to make the sandals. The leather came from the best animals and the stitching was as close as his tools could get. The buyer spat on the ground in front of the merchants stall and walked away angry that he wasn't able to swindle the shoes for a lower price.

Hades himself could not bring down this city for there were far too many people who held a sense of pride and resiliency. The prosperity of Greece reflected on its citizens. Yes poverty still prevailed, but it was not as wide spread as it used to be.

The morning crowd served as the best cover for the runaways, hiding in plain sight and blending into the crowd. Sakura wore a head covering hiding her blossom hair from view, the green fabric on her head reeked of seawater and fish. Her sweating only made the smell worse. Nothing about the four looked healthy. Two weeks on a boat served them no benefit when food had to be rationed. Magic could only go so far, and as Taka put it, "If the gods were so powerful and merciful then they should have sent food by harpy if Apollo couldn't grace them with their presence."

It took most of the morning to get from the docks to this center of business. Tenten knew that where there was business there was information. Someone in this square should know where the Lady Tsunade resides, especially if Jiraiya owns a vast amount of land in Athens. Serving the gods opens opportunities to meet extraordinary people, and being a healer only made the head priestess more interesting to the visitors of the temple. The sick would be healed while they were under the watchful eye of Artemis and the skilled healer.

The younger priestesses were saddened upon the departure of their beloved master, but in the end it had been for the best. Just as the Lady Tsunade came upon the city of Athens people fell ill to disease. With her help and medical expertise most of the city survived the epidemic and people lived to see another day.

The group made it to the center of the square where a fountain resided, many filled their pails and buckets with the water to take with them to their homes. Sakura sat at the edge of the fountain eager to rest her feet and try to get rid of the lightheaded feeling she had. The heat, head scarf, and the walking did not help her condition. Habari sat next to her, the girl equally tired if not more so.

The young girl noticed Sakura's glazed eyes, she removed a cloth from the bag she carried and dipped it in the water. She brought the cool cloth to the woman's forehead hoping that the water would ease her head. The chatter of the crowd probably didn't help, but the girl wanted to do something that would benefit her liberator. Habari placed the bag at Sakura's feet and helped herself to some water.

Taka shouldered his bag as well and put it next to Habari's. He hated the way he smelled of seawater, and he could hardly stand the smell of Sakura. Two weeks of rations have left all of them hungry, he noticed that through most of the voyage Habari slept along with Sakura, the girl would wake up hungry, and the woman would wake up only to stumble out of the makeshift shelter on the boat to lose her portion of the rations to the sea. He did notice that Sakura's body was getting weaker.

There were times during their voyage that she would refuse food, she would only come to the deck to get fresh air at night when the night air would offer a bit of relief to her warm body. The sun on the sea was brutal, though the winds dampened its heat, the golden chariot blazed.

During the voyage he thought about what he could do with his life now after betraying the Prince of the Southern Provence. Two weeks of pure thought can do a lot to a person. This roman did not want to be tricked again, if anything he had learned his lesson. Though wine may taste wonderful to the tongue its effects on the mind outweighed the pleasure. Taka had watched the huntress during the voyage, often she would talk with her old friends. When he asked how old they were they said they are the same age as they were fifty years ago. Taka gasped at the thought of not aging, the two men laughed at him and told him they were blessed by the god Poseidon to fish the sea for one hundred years.

He found that they could only go to land between dusk and dawn, the moment that they were not at sea during the day was the moment they would lose their gift and they would quickly age and their youth would vanish.

The rough winds of the Mediterranean delayed them a couple of days, and when the fishermen realized that they would lose the bet they gave the huntress another silver coin and the huntress kept her hydra tears. When they came to shore at twilight the fisher left them at the dock, tied their boat, and went into the city to gather more supplies. Gai and Lee hugged their friend and left as quickly as possible.

Now that they were in the city all they wanted was something to eat, problem being: he was the only one with actual money. If he were selfish he would buy himself some bread, fresh grapes, and a hotel room for the night. Seeing that he was traveling with three other people it would be unfair if he were to go on his way and leave them. Besides Diana brought him to these women, may be not Habari, but the huntress and the young woman had something to do with his miraculous recovery, he was grateful to Diana. The huntress served his goddess and so he must serve her until he is relieved of his duties.

He looked over to the huntress and back to the other two, he sighed and glanced into his pouch of money. It would be enough for two loaves of bread and he would still have money left over. The entirety of the pouch held the money he had to his disgraced name. If he spent it all in one sitting all of them would be on the streets begging for money. That would not do. He hoped whoever they were visiting that they would also give them money to survive in this city and the wild goose chase that they are facing.

"I'm going to go find us something to eat."

The huntress's eyes snapped to the roman putting her arm up before he left, "Where do you think you're going?"

The roman rolled his eyes and breathed heavily out of his mouth, "I going to get us something to eat, if it makes you feel better I will be over at that bread shop over there. You see me walk in, you see me walk out with food. Simple as that."

Tenten pulled back her hand, her stomach already yearning for fresh food. The two sitting at the fountain also stared at the roman, one with intense longing the other of slight disinterest.

The huntress spoke, "Go."

With that Taka left the women and melted into the crowd disappearing into the mass of people. The huntress sat next to the girls on the fountain, she dropped her bag next to the others. She turned and helped herself to a hardy amount of water, the refreshingly cool water slid down her throat. She looked up to see Sakura leaning on Habari, not good.

Tenten left her spot at the fountain and kneeled in front of the young woman, "Sakura, are you alright?" She brought her hands to the woman's face and Sakura opened her tired eyes, they were distant, so distant. After a long pause Sakura nodded and closed her eyes again.

The huntress gave the woman a slight shake, "Sakura I need you to wake up and look at me." She opened her eyes again, Tenten only saw that Sakura's eyes were slightly sunken and her skin was dry and burning. "When was the last time you drank water?"

"Boat. Six days."

Oh gods. Tenten made a cup out of her hands and brought water from the fountain to Sakura's lips, "Habari keep Sakura upright." The young girl moved quickly to support the young woman. Tenten spoke, "Sakura I need you to drink slowly okay, if you feel sick just let it out, okay?"

Sakura nodded and sipped the water out of the huntress's hands, her hands shook as she grabbed Tenten's writs. Her grasp was weak and she savored the water only to suddenly stop and convulse causing water to race back up her throat and splatter on the stone ground. This brought the attention of many people. Some kept their distance and stared, people getting water quickly stopped and dumped their pail back into the fountain, and only a few people approached the newcomers.

"Is everything alright over here?" a man asked. Sakura's head fell as she shook. Habari struggled to keep her body upright. The man called out, "We need some help! Someone call for help!"

The man took off the outer layer of his toga and balled it up, "Bring her down, let her sit on the ground and lean her head on the fountain." Tenten and Habari gently lifted Sakura off of the fountain and placed her on the ground. The man put his balled up toga behind Sakura's neck and took the cloth that Habari had and wet it again. The man pulled the woman's skirt above her knees and placed the cloth on her legs, he looked up for another cloth. A woman answered his gaze by tearing strips from her skirt and soaking them in the fountain water.

The two worked hand in hand trying to cool the woman's burning body. Tenten only watched her thoughts were stuck in the past. She could have done something she should have paid more attention to her, if only. The man left the damp fabric on her and directed Habari to change them and rewet them. He then stood, "Someone get a cart. She needs a healer."

Two boys sprinted out of the square answering his order, other people still watched the ordeal. The man returned to his patient's level on the ground, he then looked up at Tenten and flipped a coin at her, "Get a real cup."

Tenten left her charge and she ran to the nearest stalls selling small pottery items. She saw something that might work, "Sir I need that." The merchant nodded, brought it down and placed it on the front counter. Tenten promptly slammed the coin down and grabbed the cup and sprinted back to her charge not bothering to see if it were the right price or not. The call of, "Thief!" only told her that she had under-paid him. Not good but Sakura needed it more than the merchant needing his money.

Upon returning, Sakura was being hoisted onto the cart, the boys stood off to the side keeping a donkey still. Her upper body was elevated on the man's toga as it was tied to the sides of the cart. She came up to them quickly.

"I brought, I brought the cup."

The man took the cup out of her hands and filled it with water. "Load in their bags. I am riding with her. You and your companion need to walk."

"Where are you going?"

"There is a woman who is very skilled in the art of medicine. I am taking your friend to her, she will most likely be able to help her live through this."

Just at that time Taka found them, he was out of breath and the bread he held was smashed against his chest. He looked at the huntress then at Sakura. He realized too late what had occurred, "I should have known. Damn it, I'm better than that!" He said under his breath.

One of the boy's took the head of the cart and guided the donkey through the crowd, they spilt and made a passage for them, the three companions followed close behind. Just before leaving the square Taka filled his water skin in the fountain, he caught up with them just as the exited the square.

The man spoke soothingly to Sakura, his tone encouraging. He kept her from falling asleep, sometimes he brought the cup of water to her mouth telling her to just to take a small sip to wet her mouth telling her not to swallow until the water grew warm and she felt like her mouth was wet. She would nod at times and shake her head at others. He asked her questions of no importance. So long as she stayed awake until they reached their destination.

Taka tore off small pieces of bread and handed them to the huntress and the young girl, they kept a distance between them and the cart as they ate. The watched the man, Tenten with more intensity than the others. As they ate their bodies were feeling livelier, the opposite could be said for their minds. Any more stress might just make one of them break, bets on Habari.

The trek out of the city was long, the trek to their destination even longer. Relief filled them when they saw a large house in the distance. The man never took his eyes off of the woman, he continued to give her small sips of water. She has yet to throw up again so that was good progress for her. The Sun was rising higher in the sky and he could tell that the woman's body would be growing even warmer now. All of the cooling treatment at the fountain was wearing away, they have to get to the house soon or she would relapse.

The man asked the boy if he could get the animal go fast enough to get there quickly without disturbing the woman. The boy nodded and urged the donkey to go at a slightly faster pace.

Within the hour the group made it to the large house, its gardens were large and expressive. The group could see the small bodies of growing oranges on the smaller trees, the blossoms long gone along with its sweet aroma. The time of summer was a time of development and growth, long gone are the days of spring's beauty and splendor.

Upon their arrival a servant met them in the courtyard, "Master Nawaki, we were not expecting your return until later."

"There was an accident, this woman needs my sister's help. Udon, help me bring her down and into the front room."

The servant nodded and helped Nawaki take the woman off of the cart, the man supported her right shoulder and Udon weakly supported the other. Sakura's head swayed from side to side as the two carried her into the house. Tenten followed close behind, Taka and Habari kept their distance and stayed outside.

The four people crowded into the front room, surprisingly there looked to be an examination bed of sorts made of a light brown wood and a thin cushion. Nawaki and Udon placed her gently on the table and positioned her on her side.

"Go get my sister."

The servant left quickly without giving acknowledgment to his master's order. Nawaki turned to Tenten, "There is a well in the courtyard, fetch some water."

Before she left she asked, "Your sister who is she?"

The man gave a small smile, "The Lady Tsunade, Savior of Athens."

(X)

The three wanderers waited in another room waiting for the famed medic to come to give them news. They had learned from Nawaki that Tsunade's husband, the Lord Jiraiya, was away on a democratic call. Since he held a great amount of land to his name he bought his seat and a voice in the city of Athens. Though he may be slightly an unorthodox person with his interactions with women and his raunchy writings, he had a strong ethical voice in the presence of men who would make the laws and standards of the city.

Tenten found that Tsunade was originally from Athens and she had heard a calling from Artemis after she lost her sweet heart Dan. The goddess offered her solace gave her a new goal and meaning to her life. One that would be less likely to hurt her broken heart even more and maybe some time to recover from her loss and piece back her heart as time went on.

Upon the discovery that the woman on the bed was Sakura, Tsunade had immediately went hard at work to bring back her former apprentice. Tsunade thought that the rosette should have known better than to become so dehydrated to the point of illness. She had stayed in that room for hours. After she was sure that Sakura had gotten enough water and nutrients she let the young woman fall asleep letting her body take in the water and rebuild its strength.

When she was sure that Sakura was okay enough to be left alone she left the room closing the door silently behind her. When she turned she came face to face with the three travelers, her eyes narrowed and she bit her lip in frustration. Clearly by their warn looks and outward appearance the trio looked like opposites of each other. There was a story to be told, and it would be a good one.

Being a former priestess of Artemis she eyed the huntress first, everything about her screamed that she was a servant of Artemis. Tsunade crossed her arms, "Now why is a former apprentice of mine under this roof sick and pregnant?"

Tenten's eyes widened slightly and her voice trailed, "How?"

"There are two heart beats in her pulse that's how." Tsunade stood in front of the huntress, "I know who you are huntress, what task has the goddess charged you?"

"I was to protect her from the wrath of Hera and the advances of the Prince Sasuke. Sakura had broken the vow of virginity but the goddess had mercy on her and I guess for the child."

"Artimis is gracious. More so than some of the most acclaimed gods and goddesses. My question is why you have come here. Surely this is not your final destination." Tsunade waited for the huntress to answer.

"The goddess told me to come here."

"And Sakura told me that she is to go to Egypt. The father is waiting for her there."

"She never told me anything about going to Egypt, or about this man she slept with."

"In her state Sakura does not know either, but during my hours of treating her she was convinced that she is to go Egypt and that Gaara is waiting for her." Tsunade finally sat down, she lost her attack in her voice, "When the mind is in survival mode it has a tendency to remember things vividly. If her mind is telling her Egypt then it would be your job to listen as at times the gods sometimes speak to us while we ourselves are not aware that they are."

Habari and Taka looked at each other, neither of them understood what the woman said. To Taka the thought of Egypt brought back memories he would rather forget, to Habari Egypt was a place that needed to be explored somewhere that she had to discover. The young girl hardly knew of Sakura's pregnancy the same could be said with Taka.

Tsunade spoke again, "You knew about her condition."

Tenten's voice did not falter, "I had a suspicion."

"Does she know?"

"I don't think she is fully aware that she is with child. I don't think she has been all that aware of what is going on around her."

"I am highly disappointed in the lack of care you have given your charge. I see that you do look after her in the case of protection, but not in the case of heath. What would our goddess think?"

Tenten kept her tongue and her silence.

"From what I gather you did not once think to tell her your suspicion. Think of her shock when she finds that people around her knew before she did, it is a shame." Tsunade did not like the carelessness that the huntress. To go for such a long time without knowing that she was pregnant meant that the mother would be carless, the child would be starving and would feed off of whatever the mother's body could give. The mother would become weaker and that weakness would cause her mind to become unfocused. It would be a cycle of unawareness that could possibly cause the death of both mother and child.

Tenten had nothing to say in her defense. She knew since her meeting with Eris, why else would the goddess of discord find it amusing to cause trouble. To think about it, it would have been in Eris's favor to go directly to the prince, it would cause him to rage, it would cause him…to work harder. He knew, and the huntress knew that if the prince knew that his wife was with child with another man he would do anything in his power to kill the child and get rid of any evidence that she had been with said man.

His motivation has increased, the sooner he gets to her the sooner he could force a miscarriage.

"It is quite fortunate that you brought her to me, had she been on her own for another day she would not be breathing. You and your friends are welcome to stay in my home. My husband won't be back until later tonight. I will have Udon direct you to the guest rooms and give you food. When Sakura is better you will leave for Egypt immediately, I will talk with my husband to see if we can help a friend in need of transportation. In the meantime I will be with Sakura. Good night."

With that the woman left the room and went about her business a patient needs to be healed and medicine and nutrient specific food needed to be made. It would be a long night for the healer, but she did not mind. It would be like old times when she would take care of the young Sakura at the temple who fell ill to a common sickness. This child was like a daughter, and a daughter should be looked after no matter how old.

**Many months of guilt and many reviews asking for continuation even after all of this time have influenced this update. I am sorry for the wait.**


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